The clergyman was finishing the graveside service.
Suddenly, the 78-year-old man whose wife of 50 years had
just died began screaming in a thick accent, "Oh, oh, oh,
how I loved her!" His mournful wail interrupted the
dignified quiet of the ceremony. The other family and
friends standing around the grave looked shocked and
embarrassed. His grown children, blushing, tried to shush
their father. "It's okay, Dad; we understand, Shush." The
old man stared fixedly at the casket lowering slowly into
the grave. The clergyman went on. Finishing, he invited the
family to shovel some dirt onto the coffin as a mark of the
finality of death. Each, in turn, did so with the exception
of the old man. "Oh, how I loved her!" he moaned loudly. His
daughter and two sons again tried to restrain him, but he
continued, "I loved her!"
Now, as the rest of those gathered around began leaving
the grave, the old man stubbornly resisted. He stayed,
staring into the grave. The clergyman approached. "I know
how you must feel, but it's time to leave. We all must leave
and go on with life."
"Oh, how I loved her!" the old man moaned, miserably.
"You don't understand," he said to the clergyman, "I almost
told her once."
