Grandpa, suit up!

I'm just reading Howard Williams' Death Warmed Up and one particular thought made me laugh at its truth.

The body undergoing decomposition and transformation affects memory through a response of fear, revulsion and avoidance (Hertz, 1960). In other cases, the experience of the cadaver creates such a unique and powerful impact on the senses that it can form the very basis of the way the dead person is remembered. (page 267)

This made me think of my grandpa's funeral. It was open casket. I had never seen a dead body before and didn't know what to expect. I approached the casket with caution, and half expected it to be lined with the upholstery of his beloved blue recliner.

I placed my hands on the soft oak paneling of the tastefully Catholic casket and peered in on grandpa Ulrich. Grandpa looked good - damn good!

Later at the reception, my dad said "The suit we got for him was the nicest suit he ever owned - he never looked better than he did today."

Can anyone else see the comic in this sentence?

When I read that particular section of Howard Williams' article, it made me think that dead grandpa was better dressed than living grandpa. And I will always remember him in the way I last saw him: looking like NPH in How I Met Your Mother.