Decided not to go the funeral and just went to the visitation. But even that had a different feel then a typical Black funeral. Wasn't no funeral cars. Just one car for the body. Came in the church and it was so packed near the entrance. Everybody stood around talking. At Black funerals, everybody seated during that time. Including the family. The body was on the side. Not upfront where the preacher usually speaks. On the other side, they had a TV with picture slides of her. They also had a table with some of her favorite books (Les Miserables, Uncle Tom's Cabin

).
Racially, I saw one brother. I was wondering if he was brotha or he was on some

. Looked at him and he gave the "head nod". So, I knew he was a brotha. I did have one old Saltine come up to me.
D'White: How do you know _______?
Me: We used to work together.
D'White: Oh, that's great. Where do you work now?
Me: At a H.S. I work in truancy.
D'White: Oh, I can imagine thats tough
Me: Yeah, but I"m looking to transition. Just graduated and I'm looking for a school counseling job.
D'White: Oh, that's great. Never heard of school counselor having to PACK HEAT. Worrying about a kid going through the metal detectors getting at a school counselor.
And with that, that was my sign to leave. Didn't have the energy.