{"id":2424,"date":"2014-09-15T18:37:36","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T01:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spclarke.com\/?page_id=2424"},"modified":"2014-09-15T18:37:36","modified_gmt":"2014-09-16T01:37:36","slug":"chapter-vii","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/spclarke.com\/?page_id=2424","title":{"rendered":"Chapter VII"},"content":{"rendered":"

There were more than\"Billy-Rancher-1981-proof-11small\"<\/a> two hundred people in attendance at Pierce Granger\u2019s funeral. Family, friends, clients, curious onlookers, complete strangers. Even members of the press, there to cover the story about the passing of one of Oregon\u2019s great sports legends. Pierce the Plowman was dead at forty-nine.<\/p>\n

Ingrid Granger sat in the front pew of St. Michael\u2019s Church, with her children, Billy, Elaine and Denny at her side. Down the row were Pierce\u2019s brother, Peter, and his sister, Rose. Ingrid was sobbing softly. Elaine, too, wept to herself, as Billy firmly fixed his gaze upon the casket\u2014which lay surrounded by innumerable wreaths of flowers at the foot of the alter. An organist played sad, somber strains, evoking a strange, uplifting despondency.<\/p>\n

Billy had not been in a church since Elaine got married in seventy-four. He had not thought that the marriage would last, and sure enough, less than three years later, she was filing for a divorce. Elaine\u2019s husband, Russell, played bass in the popular Seattle band, the Hots. And, given his propensity for a wandering eye, it was not long before Russell was violating any number of his marriage vows at any given time.<\/p>\n

Still drunk from the wake of the night before\u2014and from having downed half a bottle of Wild Turkey before the service had even begun, Denny\u2019s head lolled from side to side. He reeked of alcohol. Occasionally, for no particular reason, Denny would chuckle, as if sharing a joke with himself.<\/p>\n

A dull hum, surrounded the rest of the congregation, ambiguous incertitude in their hushed tremulous voices. Pierce\u2019s death had only precipitated the inevitable eventuality of their own. This awareness imbued the room with a great sense of trepidation\u2014as if all were precariously traversing a slender cliff high on a mountain ledge, about to fall at any time.<\/p>\n

The priest came out through a vestibule from the anteroom behind the alter, wearing his black funeral vestment. Billy thought the design on the front of the robe looked like an upside-down peace sign. Ornate circles and diamonds trimmed in red and gold lay within the design. Though the vestment was an obvious signal of death, there was an element of hope in the filigree of the trim. He began to intone solemnly.<\/p>\n

\u2014Oh, God of grace and glory, we remember before you this day our brother, Pierce Joseph Granger. We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends, to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn. Give us quiet confidence that we may continue our course in faith.<\/p>\n

The assembly began to grieve quietly, in reflective lamentation. Billy felt his body shudder reflexively. But his eyes remained set upon his father\u2019s casket. The priest continued his simple liturgy.<\/p>\n

\u2014May Christ comfort you, as you follow him on the path now set before you. With God\u2019s help, I will journey beside you. With God\u2019s help, I will watch and wait with you. And with God\u2019s help I will witness the love of Christ by my presence and prayers with you. Before God and your loved ones, I commit myself to you in the name of Christ.<\/p>\n

Sitting next to Ingrid at the conclusion of his prayer, the priest left the podium open to anyone who cared to speak in Pierce\u2019s behalf\u2014solicitously holding the bereaved woman\u2019s hand. Almost immediately, Charley Ward stood up and walked resolutely to the head of the church and up to the platform. With great anxiety, he began to speak.<\/p>\n

\u2014Hi, everybody. I\u2019m Charley Ward. Pierce, was my best friend. We were neighbors for almost twenty years. Our kids grew up together. The boys built a retaining wall in my backyard, for my peonies. Doc was my golf partner and mentor\u2014even though I could never get my swing right.<\/p>\n

Charley glanced out in the direction of Ron and Paul, who were seated with their families directly behind Ingrid and the children. He offered a vague, slight smile.<\/p>\n

\u2014I\u2019d…I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m gonna do without Doc. I don\u2019t know who I\u2019m gonna ask for advice about building a deck or a wall. I don\u2019t know who I\u2019m gonna borrow tools from. I don\u2019t know who I\u2019m gonna call when the roses start showing rot. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m gonna do\u2026<\/p>\n

Hurriedly, Charley moved down the steps of the dais and back to his seat, with his wife and Corinne, in the front row of pews across from the family.<\/p>\n

The pulpit stood empty for quite some time. Finally, Peter Granger stood and moved toward the platform.<\/p>\n

\u2014I always looked up to Pierce. I guess you could say my older brother was my hero. He could do everything better than I could. And he proved it in just about every way possible. He was a better man than I am and I will miss him every day.<\/p>\n

Peter briskly stepped down, returning to his place next to Rose.<\/p>\n

Again the plinth stood empty for several minutes. Billy looked around and somewhat reluctantly went forward. He stood, for a moment, in front of the mourners, taking a deep breath and collecting his thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u2014Just like Charley and Uncle Pete said, my dad was my friend and my hero, too. I think he taught me everything I know. Or at least everything that was worth knowing. He taught me how to throw a baseball and how to hit it and field it. He came to all my baseball games.<\/p>\n

He looked in Denny\u2019s direction and corrected himself.<\/p>\n

\u2014All of our<\/em> baseball games. And he always encouraged us and never berated us when we acted like clowns out there, or anything.<\/p>\n

Billy smiled at his brother. Denny, eyes red and swollen, smirked a crooked grin at his brother, head bobbing from side-to-side..<\/p>\n

\u2014Dad was a great athlete. He was the best fullback OSU ever saw. And he was a great wrestler and a really great baseball player too. He should have been a major league baseball player, but injuries ended his career in sports. But, instead of crying in his beer, he became a landscape contractor.<\/p>\n

His father\u2019s eldest son lifted his head proudly.<\/p>\n

\u2014He took care of my mom and me, and my brother and sister. He gave us a great life. He\u2019d do anything for us. He just got me and Denny guitars after we pestered him about it, even though I don\u2019t think he thought it was such a good idea that we got into music. He just wanted us to be happy and to do the best we could. That was the kind of guy he was. He just wanted everybody to do the best they could. He wanted everybody to succeed.<\/p>\n

The sounds of sniffles and sobs began to fill the room. Billy\u2019s brave baritone voice continued to fill the room.<\/p>\n

\u2014Dad was a great cook. He taught me how to make a great barbecue beef marinade that I\u2019ll pass on to my kids. Chicken enchiladas. He always made homemade ice cream for my mom\u2019s birthday party every summer. I remember that noisy ice cream maker grinding away for hours out on the deck, while we would all be out around the pool, swimming. Dad taught me how to swim and how to ride a bike. Dad taught me how to drive the old green Cadillac and how to fly fish. I hate fishing, but he taught me how and I\u2019m glad he did\u2014because maybe my kids will want to know how someday.<\/p>\n

Billy looked directly into his mother\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

\u2014My dad taught me how to be a great husband and father. He took care of his family. And when I have a family of my own, I\u2019ll take care of them in the same way he taught us. To be generous and kind and thoughtful and understanding. To be a man. To be the head of the family and to be strong and fair.<\/p>\n

Denny eyed his brother with abject jealousy and profound admiration. Billy was saying all the things that he wished he could say. But Billy was more eloquent. More mature. Billy was more at ease in front of a crowd. Billy had all the gifts and Denny felt that he had none. In his drunken state, he could only feel sorry for himself and sorry for the whole sorry situation. In a way, he wished that it was Billy who had died instead of his father. Denny would have liked to be in the light, out from behind Billy\u2019s shadow.<\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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There were more than two hundred people in attendance at Pierce Granger\u2019s funeral. Family, friends, clients, curious onlookers, complete strangers. 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