Yesterday I met a friend for a morning walk. I hadn’t seen her for about a week and knew she was out of town caring for her seriously ill sister. Sadly, I found out her sister had died. The funeral was Monday and was carried out according to her sister’s wishes. After the service, the body was lovingly transported to the cemetery by a wagon drawn by the deceased’s own horse. I had seen a picture in the paper recently about a Wisconsin farmer’s funeral with his casket carried by wagon drawn by his horses and understood what she meant. As Judy was describing this to me and searching for the right name for this conveyance, two other friends of hers caught up with us. She backtracked to explain to them the funeral arrangements and tell them about the horse drawn wagon. One friend offered the word “catafalque”. For a brief moment my mind heard “catapult”. Not respectful, I thought. Some gray matter must have made the correction, because I quickly realized what she had said. Catafalque: Think state funeral with the body lying in state on a platform that may or may not be moveable. This is definitely more dignified than the Gonzo type catapult.
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