Punk Rock Funeral

Now I have only been to a few funerals, enough to count on one hand, and all were very traditional.
Sam's funeral would be a one of kind experience.

I went to the funeral with my other two friends, James and Doug. Doug argued with me for 20 minutes about riding together with him. I told him I was going to be there all day and didn't think he would want to stay. Eh it turns out Doug is a better friend then we all thought. Still the ride in would turn into a smoke out. For some odd reason James and Doug thought it would be a good idea to smoke a joint in honor of Sam. For some odd reason they thought it would be a good idea to get high before a funeral? After several attemps to get me to partake of the smoke session they finally gave up. For another odd reason my friends aren't very supportive of my new found sobriety.

We arrived at the funeral home to find Alok standing out front. He seemed his normal self. We were all very hesitant to approach Alok. The other two high and me....well still not knowing how to act. After a few words Alok said "you guys want to go pay some respects?"

We entered very awkwardly, and solemnly. We followed Alok up to the his brothers casket. There awaiting us was Alok's mother and Sam's girlfriend, Barb. Aloks mother was in hysterics, wailing and sobbing. James immediately stepped forward to give her a hug. Doug followed Alok towards the casket, and me, not knowing where to go or stand, made a B-line to the pictures of Sam.

Sam was laid out in exactly the way he had requested. No suit, he was wearing his favorite hat, Ramones T-shirt, jeans, and combat boots. He was done up very well, he looked good......well good for what people look like after they die.

The whole funeral was a very surreal experience. It was almost something out of a movie. In the background Punk Rock music was playing, all of Sams favorites from the Ramones to Rancid. This was followed by a steady stream of the oddest assortment of friends making their way in to pay their respects. I'm talking from the totally punked out to the totally tattooed!

Alok was starting to loose it as the funeral proceeded. The more people came, the more he seemed to realize his brother was gone. I was sitting next to him when he blurted out "this can't be happening, I need to get out of here!" All I could was listen. I mean what the hell do you say to that? He then asked me to follow him over to his brothers casket. While we were standing there he said "It wasn't supposed to be like this, we were supposed to grow old together and mary chicks our parents hated!" He then started to cry, I couldn't help but feel what he meant and I became a bit teary eyed, yet managed to choke back my emotions. I was sad, but couldn't understand why. I wasn't attached to Sam, I new him, but not well. All I could justify was that I have three brothers, and I couldn't imagine what it would be like to loose one of them. I guess it was a brother thing that made me sad.

At the end of the night a priest came to say a few words. It was a bit odd, he even said so himself, that a catholic priest be saying some words to a man that came from a primarily Hindu background. at first he said Muslim, but was quickly corrected by Alok's mom. He read a quick passage and said that Sams suffering was necessary to bring him closer to God. Alok was perplexed by this because someone his brothers age should never have had to experienced what he did.

After the wake every one headed over to a bar Sam used to DJ for called the Liars Club. By this time it had been a long day for us all. We only stayed for a few drinks. I offered to drive Aloks car home for him. He had a very tough day, he wasn't drunk, but I thought it would be best if took him home. It was a somber drive, he really didn't say much. All except, that he was going to miss the drive into Chicago. With his brother gone, there was no reason for him to keep going back and forth.