The street
where I lived (West Fifth) had a variety of ethnic groups. Among them were
Greeks, Albanians, Armenians etc. but it was predominately made up of Irish
Catholics. When one of our Irish neighbors passed I went to the wake at the Casper
Funeral Home on Dorchester St. to pay my respect. After offering my condolences
to the family and the lately departed I was approached by one of the funeral
directories and directed to a lower floor where there was a gathering.
In contrast to the somber assembly above there
was noise, laughter, back slapping, liquor and stories of the lately departed.
At first I thought it was disrespectful to the family above but as the evening
continued and I took part I changed my mind. The Irish had it right. The wake
was a celebration of the person’s life not his death. That was my first
introduction to the “Irish Wake”
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