Margie

Today I went to the funeral of a friend. Margie Goloski was 49 years old when she died early this week from liver failure secondary to lung cancer (she was a victim of childhood second-hand smoke). At the small quaint Catholic church in the little village of Phoenix just outside of Baldwinsville, her stoic husband, Jim, accomplished and talented children; daughters Kate and Jean, son John and his fiance Lia sat somberly in the pew with hardly a tear. There were no more tears to be had, used up from hours and hours of crying since her death on Monday. And like Margie's family, the sky was overcast and gray but it didn't rain since all the rain "tears" had been poured out yesterday.

The Catholic priest called her Margaret (her given name) so he must not have known her well. It sounded strange and cold. She was MARGIE (pronounced with a hard "g" sound) to everyone who knew her. Most of the service was very "catholic"; complete with burning incense, litanies and scriptures read from the old and new testaments, songs sung by the choir in the back balcony, the passing of the peace. In his sermon the priest claimed that even though "Margaret was only 49, her life was NOT cut short." WHAT??? In my mind I was screaming "BULLSH....!" Her life WAS cut short. Although he cited Aristotle's statement that 49 was the prime of someone's life, the priest claimed that Margaret had lived a full life because she was "a Catholic who gave love to her family and friends." This argument fell way short in my estimation. I doubt anyone in the church today agreed with him, most of all her family.

Fortunately, this seemingly preposterous sermon was followed with a wonderful eulogy given by a former high school music teacher of Margie's. He mentioned her accomplishments as an artist and professor, her intelligence, her creative pranks, and then he told a classic Margie story about Margie's wit and cleverness as a young girl. THIS Margie story was exactly the way we all new our beloved MARGIE. She was no different in her adult life, our generation's Erma Bombeck. I only knew Margie a few short years, but the Margie I knew was quick witted, smart, fun-loving, direct, extremely proud of her children and passionate about the things that were important to her. The music teacher's story helped us remember our own personal colorful "Margie" stories that we will cherish forever. Finally the priest ALLOWED the "Catholics in good standing" to receive communion. I was thankful to keep my seat. The closing hymn, "On Eagle's Wings" was comforting and familiar.

The funeral procession from St Stephen's Church in Phoenix to Riverview Cemetary in Baldwinsville seemed long as the long train of cars traveled the back country roads. Along the way, there were wild flowers and meadows, birds flitting about. The world and Margie were at peace now.

At the cemetary Margie's marble urn faced a lovely green view of the slowly meandering Seneca River. There was a slight breeze. A lonely bagpipe played "Amazing Grace". The priest read a few words from his book, the funeral person invited people to a luncheon back at the church. Family and friends hugged and whispered a few comforting words to each other. We slowly drifted back to our cars and our lives.

We miss you already, Margie.

SHOWDOWN: BIG EAST vs BIG 12

GO SU!

So far the BIG EAST has dominated the SWEET SIXTEEN! Will the streak continue?

Tonite Syracuse plays Oklahoma in the NCAA SWEET SIXTEEN!! Will Jim B and his boys take'em down? Will Devendorf be amazing in his usual quirky, bragadocious way? Will Jonny Flynn continue to play like there is no tomorrow and with that ever-present grin on his face? Will SU be able to squelch the tsunami-like Sooners and their goliath Blake Griffin?

WATCH on CBS at 7:37pm (EST) TONIGHT

Go underdogs everywhere!