Too Much Dying

The “Tsunami” thing is just too big to fully comprehend. Like the twoWorld Wars the vastness of the catalogue of death defies rational understanding. The wife and I “font part du décès” as they say in France of just one person. Our close neighbour Nicole died (or rather was “switched off”) on 27th December aged 62. She had collapsed earlier in the month while sitting at a table in her home preparing Christmas decorations. Sadly her death could have been averted had she consulted a doctor earlier in the year when she had suffered sudden pains, but she had stubbornly refused medical help. Needless to say that when she collapsed in December it was far, far too late.

The wife and I decided to take the British line and go only to the local village church “obsèques” and leave the viewing of the deceased prior, and the “incinération” at Abbeville afterwards, to the family. Poor old Constant, Nicole’s “companion” for the past 24 years managed bravely, but he is absolutely distraught and it will be several months before he is back on his bike again wearing his gaudy “Velo Club de Dominois” shorts and shirt and a big grin. Rather worryingly he suggested yesterday that I enrol as the second member (Dominois is a very small village) of this illustrious organization.

Back to the “obsèques”, we were interested to see what sort of send-off the French give their departed. We had been warned that very few people would attend but in the event the little church was pretty much crowded. Two ladies and a man (none wearing clerical robes) officiated saying prayers, announcing hymns (in French) and keeping control of the complex sound system. The service was very moving and without incident although one of the two lady clerics very nearly caught fire from one of the candles surrounding Nicole’s coffin. The entire congregation later filed past the head of the coffin each member making a sign of the cross with a strange implement whilst on the coffin a small salver of incense smoked away.

I had secretly hoped for a round of applause as the coffin was wheeled out of the church (remember the spontaneous outburst of clapping as Princess Diana’s coffin passed the French Embassy) but this was not the case. Nonetheless a suitable send-off for a friendly lady and I’m only pleased that we stayed on in France a few more days in order to attend.

Strange though that the twenty four hour period of Nicole’s sad demise saw more people killed in Asia than in any corresponding period in any World War, and possibly more lives lost in a single day than at any other time in history*. Another tragedy, and one the magnitude of which is impossible to fully absorb and comprehend.

*A comment like that sets one thinking and a couple of days in August 1945 probably have the Tsunami beat for sheer human loss. Reading a little about Hiroshima and Nagasaki makes the heart pound. Those events were man-caused, not nature-caused and, it is said, the bombs were unnecessary. The Japanese were already exploring avenues for surrender and the utter awfulness of the devastation might easily have been avoided. Oh, hell. Maybe the world would be a better place with a little less of the USA.