Collecting for a funeral on a Friday Afternoon

It was a boiling hot
Friday afternoon
when I ventured forth
for some toing and froing

At the Gas station,
A phalanx of Ford F-150 pickups
were fueling up
readying for a weekend of
lifestyle enhancing activities.

Such as driving to mountains
whose glaciers had not yet disappeared
or towing boats to beaches
as yet unfouled by tar and oil

At the Credit Union
The lines were not as confident,
perhaps cause they were filled with
survivors and refugees
of the latest financial disaster
There to empty
their coffee cans full of near-worthless coins
in a vain attempt to stave of
personal fiscal apocalypse
Many were wondering
if they could hang on to the next pay day.

On the way to Starbucks
while waiting at a red light
I saw an old man
hatless in the summer sun
with a hand painted coardboard sign
asking for donations
for a "Funeral Ambulance"
whatever that was
Silly old geezer thinks I,
Even the ancient Greeks knew
that trips to the after life
can't be paid for with checks or credit cards
or a little bit of spare change.

I didn't give the hatless
old geezer any change
and drove off in my pickup
thinking that standing on the corner with
a cardboard sign asking for change
was a hell of a hard way to pay for
a six pack, pint of vodka,
or to pay for transportation
for a funeral.

Capitano Tedeschi

30

collecting for a funeral on a Friday afternoon copyright July 27, 2010 by Jamie Jacks