Uh ... Whoops?

[Jim Simmons]

As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service. The cemetery is located in the Nova Scotia back country.

As I was not familiar with the back country, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop to ask for directions.

I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt bad and apologized to the men for being late.

I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man. I played like I've never played before.

And as I played "Amazing Grace", the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I´ve never seen anything like that before, and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."