The Great Plotnik

Friday, November 17, 2006

Mrs. Brady Dies and Ray in a Suit


These are The Great Plotnik's neighbors, Ray and Pat. Pat has lived on the block for better than 60 years, and Ray, her husband, moved in when they got married after he got back from the Korean War.

The Great Plotnik saw Ray and Pat walking up the street the other day. He had never seen Ray wearing a suit, so he stopped and took a picture, and in doing so he noticed a motorcycle cop parked in the middle of the street on the corner, channeling people down Randall Street. When Plotnik asked Ray about it, he found out about a San Francisco Irish tradition.

Old Mrs. Brady died last week. She had lived here even longer than Ray and Pat. The funeral was yesterday at St. Paul's (the church where they filmed 'Sister Act') and afterwards everyone came back to Mrs. Brady's house. Actually, it's more accurate to say 'drove by' Mrs. Brady's house, because the Irish custom is for the deceased to be driven by her house so she can see it one last time, before they put her in the ground. Everyone who came to the funeral follows the hearse.

Since one of the Brady boys had once been a cop, the motorcycle cop volunteered to guide the traffic past Mrs. Brady's house. After the cars passed the house, they all continued on into the Sunset to the Irish Cultural Center for the reception.

We all forget this city was once owned and operated by Irish and Italians. Add in the Chinese and nothing has changed. Everyone still has all their customs, and if you're doubtful, head down to the Wharf next Spring and watch the Priest bless the fishing fleet.

1 Comments:

At 5:58 PM, Blogger Karen said...

I'm pretty sure it was Ray who showed up at your door after I set off your alarm when I was housesitting in Jan. For some reason, he decided not to unleash the cops on the two ditzy women freaking out inside.

 

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