I went to my grandfather's funeral. He was buried with a three-volley gun salute and flag folding ceremony. I learned things about him just from his obituary, because I really didn't know him at all. He served in WWII in the Philippines, in the Army. I thought he was only Air Force, but he switched after the war. He won a medal, which is why he got Taps and everything (even if you're not military, you'll still know it when you hear it). That's when I got emotional, because it's just such an inherently sad song. I didn't know him as a person, and hadn't seen him since I was a teenager because he was such a mean, racist old man, but it was still sad. My grandmother couldn't stop crying. It made me realize that they got married because they were madly in love at some point, even if they hated each other for years toward the end.

It was an interesting experience. Very nice service, and saw family I hadn't seen in years. When he died, my grandpa couldn't even swallow properly anymore, so I consider it a blessing that he's at peace now.

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