MICHEL LAFITTE 22 October 1930 - 14 February 2014
Michel Lafitte was buried today after his funeral mass at our church, St Michel - hardly surprising that there was a vast and tearful crowd. Decency forbade I should snap all and sundry but I got a few outside that showed the level of ceremony and ritual.
On the way in I didn't know whether one just marched into the church or waited for the coffin to arrive and for the army to present arms. Talked to people in the crowd as I loitered undecided- this sort of thing doesn't happen often so no-one really knew. Saw Edith and said, I don't have to go in with my liste do I? (Thats the group of people I'm standing with to support our current Mayor) She said, thoughtfully, no; but they might think it a bit odd you are standing with mine (She is on the liste of Georges, a competitor) Much giggling ensued.
Waited and followed the coffin.
The family read from the lectern and all the young ones wept, heartbreakingly; then the army took over with info about his meteoric career. We all knew he was brilliant but nice to know he'd always been brilliant, not just in his town. The priest was good too, talked about the Generals work on restoring the church ('to the envy of all others').
The queue to leave the church and offer condolences to the widow took a very long time and though there were still wet eyes the townsfolk chattered and offered comfort to one another - c'est comme ca the refrain.
Hey la. He was a rare one.
No comments:
Post a Comment