email forwarded by Gallege De Silva:-
Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow
that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life.
As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral
director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family
or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the 'back and
beyond'.
As I was not familiar with the 'sticks', I got lost and, being a typical
man, I didn't stop for directions.
I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently
gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and
crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt bad and apologised to the men
for being late.
I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was
already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played
out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like
I've never played before for this homeless man.
And as I played Amazing Grace, the workers began to weep. They wept, I
wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and
started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never
seen anything like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for
twenty years."
