I took a deep breath and took my hat off before walking inside the Church.
I knew it would be hard seeing her in the Casket.
She was born in ’60. Just fifteen years older than me.
The Ushers opened the door to the Chapel and welcomed me in.
“Family to the left and friends to the right,” the Usher said. I went to the right.
I immediately saw many of my former Work-Family from my previous life—my previous career. I hugged everyone tightly. I told all of them, “I love you.”
During the Service, Mrs. Croom’s sister stood and told a story of a younger Mrs. Croom, and I felt it necessary enough to tell here:
“When Rebecca was younger, she worked at ‘Burger King.’ And like most teenagers, she wanted to go out on the town on Saturday Nights. However, the Manager of Burger King always scheduled Rebecca to work on Saturday Nights. After working many Saturday Nights in a row, Rebecca quit her job and went home. When she arrived home, her Father asked her why she was home so early. She told him that she had quit her job. The Father immediately said, ‘Oh no, you didn’t.’ He then picks up the phone, calls Burger King, and asks to speak to the Manager. When the Manager gets on the phone, the Father tells him that his Daughter will return to work and should return in twenty minutes. And, twenty minutes later, the next words out of Rebecca’s mouth were, ‘Would you like fries with your order?'”
When I met Mrs. Croom, I was twenty. She was thirty-six.
Her work ethic was incredible. I learned a lot about “Work Ethics” from her. —Her Father knew what he was doing.
After the Service, a few of us met at Waffle House to “Catch up” with one another.
We talked about our life, our Family, and Mrs. Croom.
During a pause in our conversation, I raised my water glass and said, “To Mrs. Croom. She’s home.”
And we Toasted a Great Person—a Great Friend.
