Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Goodbye, Scoon...

No photos in this post.
Today, I attended the funeral for one of the town's most well-known members of the community, Dale Scott.
I left my camera at home. I may have met him when I came to work here, but the last thing I wanted to do was show up in the role of 'reporter'. The other paper had a photographer there, but for today only, I didn't want to be behind the lens. I was ready to absorb the entire atmosphere as one of his friends, not as a reporter.
Firstly, there were so many people, it had to be held at the town arena. I heard there were almost 1,000 people there, to give you an idea.
The lineup to get in was through the parking lot and down the street. I do hope the family got a chance to see that, as people parked far away and cheerfully walked to the venue, all for Dale.
As I sat with a few coworkers, and we sat in the middle of it all.
Man, what a ceremony. It was a celebration of life, not a tragically sad goodbye. While Dale was only 42-years-old, the amount of stuff he has done in that short time is mind blowing.
Anyways, it was very musical, which is of course, appropriate, seeing as music was his passion. (He ran his own DJ service, was a music promoter, etc.)
The evening began with live music, featured two fantastic songs by The Bowes Brothers (well, one by the four brothers and one written by just one of them, which was phenomenal), stories of good times and laughter and so much more.
As well, this was the first funeral I have ever been to where applause was encouraged. After the first two gals finished their performance, the minister encouraged everyone to applaud and I thought that was really cool.
As the ceremony came to a close and the family/close friends began to exit with the casket, Hockey Night in Canada's theme song came on, which was just perfect.
Dale was the Detroit Red Wings' No. 1 fan, so everyone is so pleased he got to see them win the cup.
To summarize, it was a fantastic celebration of his life, and as I type this, I know the party is STILL going on at the arena, (it's after 9 p.m. right now) even though it was an afternoon ceremony.
So, thank you, Dale, for being one of the first people I met when I first started out in town. I know I am not alone when I say how much I appreciated it when you'd always be there with a smile, asking how my day was going. The fact that your funeral was 'standing room only' really shows how much the community appreciated everything you have done.