I grew up in a neighborhood that was a lot like other neighborhoods.
Where the boxes we lived in were distinguished only by the names on the mailboxes...
And the cars in the driveways.
It was a place where hard-working Americans circled their wagons to protect themselves from the outside world.
Wayne, don't forget the trash - tomorrow's Tuesday.
Hey, it's Kevin's turn.
- No, it's not! - Just...do it.
Our lives were made up of little moments...
More scalloped potatoes, honey?
All delicately intertwined.
Oh, thanks Mom.
Karen called today.
How much?
Just...thirty-five dollars till the end of the month.
Send her a check.
Hey, that's mine!
Not anymore, angelface.
Wayne...
Give your brother the roll.
Maybe we weren't aware of it then, amid the school paper-drives
and the scalloped potatoes and the sounds of the neighbor's children playing...
But life was rich there...In our small sanctuary.
And precious.
And the only thing that could ever change that...
Hello?
Was death.
Jack?
It's your father.
Hey, hey, hey!
Grandpa!
How are my boys?
Not that Grandpa was dead, exactly. In fact, he was alive and kickin'.
Ah. Got your nose!
Like a fine old wine... Or an old smoked-ham...
The guy just seemed to get more robust with age.
Hi, Albert.
Let me take your coat.
I appreciate you puttin' me up, Norma. I really do.
Oh, now...don't be silly - you're always welcome here.
So, uh, how long you stayin' for, Gramps?
Well...we'll see - we'll see.
Who-who died?
Oh. You didn't tell 'em, John...
Uh, no, Dad...I thought you'd probably want to.
Jack?!
Well...I guess you oughtta know.
Aunt Rose passed away yesterday morning.
Oh, dear...aw...Poor Aunt Rose.
Well, not to worry, Norma. She had a full and productive life.
Didn't she, boys?
Sure, Gramps.
Right!
It was true. Aunt Rose had had a full and productive life.
Which left just one little question.
Who's Aunt Rose?
Actually, she wasn't you aunt.
She was, uh...well, she was my first-cousin.
By ten o'clock that night, I was sorry I asked.
Look at that. You know where that was taken?
No...why don't you tell us Grandpa.
That was up at the lake house.
Nice bathing suit.
Yeah, well...that's what they looked like in those days, Wayne.
You know, she was...
Eighty-two years old when she died.
Can you boys even imagine that?
Course, when you're fourteen, eighty-two isn't much different from forty-two,
or even a hundred-and-two.
Still, if Gramps needed a friendly ear...
He could always count on us.
Come on, Dad.
The boys should get some sleep.
Yeah. You're right, John.
I guess I've been bending you boys' ear too much, eh?
Nah...
It was fun, Grandpa.
It was a lie - but a good lie.
After all, the guy was goin' to a funeral.
The least we could do...Was give him a pleasant send-off.
Oh! And set your alarm-clocks! We gotta leave by eight o'clock!
Hold on, here.
Did he say...?
Did he say "we"?
It was obvious somebody had to clear this up.
We chose the big guy.
Uh, Dad - about those alarm-clocks...
I meant to tell ya - I've forgotten mine.
You'll have to get us up. And we can go in my car.
Uh, well...you know, Dad...
We weren't really planning on going to the funeral.
Not goin'? Of course we're goin'.
I-I have to fly to Seattle Thursday morning, and...
The funeral's tomorrow, John... You got plenty of time.
Norma, where are the glasses?
Oh, here. Let me...
Now of course what was needed here was simple clearing of the air.
A collective statement of intention.
This just isn't a good time for me, Dad.
Funerals...Are never a good time, John.
Besides...I think the boys should go.
Great. Now he was draggin' us into this.
Uh, well...The boys have school...
Then write a note.
I think "death in the family" is an acceptable excuse.
Dad, it -
What is the matter with you, son?! Rose was family. Our family.
Doesn't it mean anything to you?
But the thing is...It really didn't.
Not to me, anyway.
I'll bet that...Kevin, there...would...
Like to pay his last respects to one of our own.Wouldn't you, son?
Suddenly...I was all that was standing between us, and Aunt Rose.
S-sure, Grandpa. I guess so.
"Sure, Grampa. I guess so."
Butthead.
It wasn't fair. I'd been cast as the Benedict Arnold of the Arnold clan...Just for being a dutiful grandson.
Are Phil and Opal coming to the funeral, Albert?
Oh, yeah. They drove down last night, to help Iris with the arrangements.
And Ray's flyin' in from Portland.
Iris? Ray? Who were these people?
And, uh, Lloyd'll be there, too.
Lloyd?
- Yeah, you remember Lloyd, he w - - Yeah. Yeah, I remember.
The thing is...I couldn't understand why all of this was so important to the old guy.
It'll be good to see the family again.
Right, Kev?
And why was he picking on me?
Right, Grandpa!
I'm glad you decided to come.
Doodle-oodle-ooo..
Here we are...Rose McKenzie.
My deepest condolences.
Somehow, I understood exactly what he meant.
This isn't little Weegie, is it?
Ya know why we call him "Weegie" don't ya?
Because he couldn't say "Wayne" until he was about four years old!
Yessir. Yessir - there was a second gunman on that grassy knoll!
I know what I'm talkin' about!
And this must be Kevin! Just look at you!
You look just like your mother!
Times have been tough, Norma.
And I know it wouldn't take much...to get the business back on its feet, again...
it's just...one thing after another...You know what I mean...
You two - you could be twins!
All in all, a sobering experience.
After about forty-five minutes of this...
Our little twig on the family-tree was just about ready to branch off.
Oh, God...
Oh, God.
I'll be right over.
This was Dad's cousin, Lloyd.
He'd made a mint selling aluminum-siding.
And probably the only person in the world with enough nerve...To call my father...
Cous'...
How the hell ya doin'?
Just great, Lloyd. You?
Never been better. Except...
Except for this, of course.
Hey...you're looking different, Jack.
Put on a few?
I don't think so.
Maybe you're just gettin' old...
It was the kind give-and-take that always affected Dad the same way.
I have to go to the john.
Good idea.
Hey!
I'll bet I missed a few birthdays in there somewhere...
I don't have any change...
You can split this up, can't you?
Hell-o, 'Cous!
Sure...
You bet!
Thanks!
No problem...
Get yourself somethin' real nice. OK?
And suddenly...We were starting to feel pretty kindly towards Aunt Rose...
Alright, boys. Time to say goodbye.
Doesn't she look natural?
They do such good work here.
As we stood there...
Face-to-face with mortality...
It's hard to describe the emotions that swelled within us.
Give me the money!
What?!
Half of it's mine - I'll get the change.
Wrong...I'll get the change.
OK - fine. I trust you.
Alright...we walk up to the casket...
You keep a look out...
And I'll take care of the rest. You got it?
Are you sure we should do this?
What's the matter - ya chicken?
No, I'm not chicken.
Well, then you gotta help me.
- No, I don't! - Yes, you do! You dropped it!
- I didn't drop it! - Yes you did drop it!
- No, I didn't drop it! - It's twenty bucks!
Hey! Hey! Hey!
What's goin' on?
Nothing, Grandpa.
Well, cut it out!
This is a funeral - not a fist-fight.
Now, where's your dad?
We don't know.
It's time to drive to the cemetery.
Besides, he's already missed the coffin-closing.
Yeah. It looked like this case was closed, alright.
The hell were you doin' back there, John?
I was gettin' some air.
"Getting some air"?
I guess you could say it was a kind of a solemn ride to the gravesite.
The flowers look lovely, Albert.
Yeah. They were, weren't they?
I haven't seen so many flowers since...Helen died.
You remember that don't ya, John?
Yeah. Yeah, I remember, Dad.
Shoo - Boy, it was hot that day, remember?
Dad, I remember, OK?
Just making conversation.
But while Gramps and Dad chewed the fat in the front seat...
Where I sat...I had problems of my own.
Hey! Cut it out!
Oh, sure - after I hit you once...for every dollar you lost.
Hey, I didn't lose it!
Ooh - lost count. I better start over again.
Wayne!
- Kevin! Stop it! - Alright - I told you boys!
Now, let's just-just all try to put a good face on this. Alright?
But the fact is, I didn't feel like putting on a face.
- Man... - John...
There's somethin' I've been meaning to talk to you about.
I was a fourteen-year-old kid with a sore shoulder...
Down ten bucks...
On my way in a cramped car...To bury somebody who had absolutely nothing to do with me.
Have you, uh...Have you thought any more about buyin' that plot next to your mother and me?
And then, suddenly...Aunt Rose's funeral hit home.
Dad, you we have to talk about this?
Something you should be thinkin' about.
Dad...
You don't want these boys makin' the decisions...Do ya?
They'll have enough to think about when the time comes.
Dad, I've taken care of it, OK?
It was the first I'd heard that my dad had a little patch of earth with his name on it.
And of course, there was only one thing to do about it.
Boys! You just stop it!
Alright. Alright!
Get out. The both of ya!
What?!
If you can't go to a funeral...and be respectful...then don't go!
Grampa -
If you change your mind...The cemetery is two miles down the road!
Dad!
Hmmm. No help there. Or there.
So, I just had to hope Gramps was bluffing.
I'm serious about this, dammit! Now get out!
- But, I - - Now!
I had never seen my grandfather so furious.
And there ya had it.
Stranded in the middle of nowhere...
With nothing to show for it...But a clean suit.
Ow!
First - you lose my money!
And now this, butthead!
You idiot!
Whoa! Jerk!
Moron!
Dorkface!
Where are you goin'?
I'm walkin'!
Grief wears a lot of faces.
Some people cry...some people hand out money...
Others throw dirt clods.
And for the first time that day...
Hey, wait up!
I was starting to feel a little grief of my own.
Jerk!
Idiot!
Some journeys take longer than others.
By the time we got to the cemetery that afternoon...
I knew I'd travelled more than just two miles.
Something was happening in my life.
Something so big...I couldn't take it all in.
And though we feel poorer for her passing...
We should seek comfort...
In the knowledge that we are, in fact...
So much richer.
Richer for having known her. For having...
Been touched by her kindness.
Would...anyone like to say a few words about Rose McKenzie?
I, uh...I believe I would.
I guess, uh...
I guess my cousin, Rose...
Liked family gatherings more than anyone I've ever known.
Even after she had...
Trouble gettin' around, she...
Always loved to have a chance to see...
The folks.
As she liked to call us.
Course, lately...it seems like the only time we get together is, uh...when there's a wedding, or...
Or when somebody leaves us.
As I stood there...listening to Grandpa's words...
a lot of things began to become real for me.
Aunt Rose.
The loss Gramps was feeling.
And why coming here was so important...
For all of us.
But, I can tell you one thing...
Rose...Is not gone from us.
She never will be.
She will always...
Be a part of us...
As long as we remain a family.
Part of...the folks.
Part of who we are.
Even for those who...really didn't know her very well.
I guess that's when I understood...What my grandfather had been trying to explain to me.
That my life was bigger than the little neighborhood I lived in.
And that these strangers who surrounded me...
Weren't just relatives...
They were my family.
And the death of one...
Affected each of us in some way.
Hey! It's twenty bucks...
We'll be seein' ya, Rose.
The thread of my Aunt Rose's life had been permanently woven into mine.
Leaving me with questions.
And driving home that night...
My fragile little family hurtling through the darkness...
I knew I'd have to face those questions one day.
- Dad? - Hmmm?
Don't ever die, OK?
Nahhh...I'm not gonna die.
But for now...
That was good enough for me.
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