Stone Monkey Soup

This weekend I attended the scattering of ashes of my Uncle Allen in Ann Arbor. Allen had died in May. He had been suffering from Multiple Sclerosis for many years. He was a concert flutist before he became ill, and continued to teach music and repair flutes. Allen was quite the character. He carried a large cup of expresso coffee in one hand; he had a large, scruffy beard, fedora hat and pipe wedged in his teeth. There was always a twinkle in his eye.

It was an overcast, rainy fall day. The ceremony was only a few minutes. Afterwards, we went to his favorite expresso bar and raised a glass of coffee in his honor. A fitting tribute. The rest of the family headed up north to scatter the rest of his ashes in Long Lake, near Traverse City.