Trip to Southern Maryland for a sad occasion

Drove down yesterday to attend the funeral services for my friend Charlie Anderson's wife. It was one of those services that although I never actually met the deceased by the end I felt I had known her. She clearly was a remarkable woman who was successful in everything she got involved in- academics, career, politics, community affairs and, most importantly, family. The service was longer than most because so many people wanted to share their thoughts about her, but it certainly never got tedious.

The event took place in a Presbyterian church much like the church I grew up in. Although I haven't entered a Presbyterian church in about 40 years, everything was familiar. Two of the three hymns I knew well, and I remembered most of the words of the Apostle's Creed and the 23rd Psalm to recite with the rest of the congregation. Funny how things you learn when you're young stay with you.

I've gotten to know Charlie Anderson over the years from an internet message board called, for obscure reasons, the Moo Board. The common interest was fishing, but that subject plays a lesser role in current discussions than in the past. Periodically over the years, we gather together for lunch. I sat next to a member, Tom, at the church, and socialized over lunch with another, Fritz and his wife, at the reception afterwards.

Before driving home, I took the above picture outside of the restaurant where the reception was held. In the background is the Thomas Johnson Bridge over the lower Patuxent River. The church was just over the bridge on the St. Mary's County side of the river, and the reception was on Solomons Island on the Calvert County side. The weather was sunny but cold and windy.