[Mid] Jafar funeral notes

        Scott Hall, known in the SCA as His Highness, Jafar al-Safa, was buried at
Riverside Cemetery in Noblesville, Indiana, on January 3rd 1998. Funeral
ceremonies were held at the People's Funeral Home, 5252 East 38th Street,
Indianapolis.

        The funeral drew an estimated 275 to 325 people, overwhelming the
facilities available at the funeral home and producing a funeral cortege
which exceeded a mile in length. (Higher estimates have been given; all of
us are making educated guesses). The funeral began about 15 minutes late
due to the slow process of fitting every person into the funeral home,
standing-room-only. Of the number attending, an estimated 40 people were
from Scott Hall's immediate and extended family, and about 12 people
attended from his workplace (Allison Engine Company). Friends from the SCA
made up most of the gathering.

        It is important to note that the funeral was primarily arranged by Scott
Hall's family, and was primarily for the family. It became evident during
the funeral that the gathering, which crossed lines both of tradition and
of race, showed a remarkable amount of compromise on the part of the family
in allowing the SCA to share in their grief. The SCA members, in their
turn, were remarkably polite in respecting and accepting a worship ceremony
which included charismatic utterances from the congregation throughout the
remarks, including: "A-men," "YES yes yes," "UH-huh," "Hear Him Now," "My
Lord," "Hallelujia," etc.

        Funeral ceremonies were conducted in the tradition of African American
Baptist worship. Three (or four?) pastors shared leadership; a gospel
soloist sang "His Eye is on the Sparrow" with gospel organ accompaniment
and the Bethel A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) choir sang "The Last
Mile of the Way." Michael Longcor (Duke Moonwulf) sang his arrangement of
G.K.Chesterton's poem "The Last Hero" to guitar accompaniment, and gained
quick approval from the pastors with the song's message of loving one's
enemies.

        Each of the pastors, who represent congregations attended by members of
Scott's family, "testified" to Scott's life. Two co-workers from Allison
gave testimonials, as did one of Jafar's squires. One of Scott's aunts had
a very hard time delivering her prepared remarks, but with patience from
the congregation and moral reinforcement from the pastors, Moonwulf and
family members, succeeded in the end. The eulogy from the Rev. Eugene M.
Bailey concentrated on reassuring the living with a strong focus on
fundamental Christian faith. There were moments of laughter throughout the
service as some of Scott's treasured foibles were brought forward -- Noble
Roman's pizza, ego, ability to fix the family's computers, personal likes
and dislikes, self-assurance, admiration of the ladies, etc.

        The following excerpted remarks were noteworthy; they come primarily from
the "testimonials."

"We prayed to the Lord that this young man be healed the way WE wanted him
healed -- but God had other healing in mind ... he will be with the Lord as
a young man forever... (first Pastor)

"If it had not been best, God would have changed it, for God can do all
things." (first pastor).

"When I first met Scott, my first thought was 'Oh, what a good-looking kid
he is!"
"To the family, I want to quote from a Marvin Gaye song ... 'I won't die
blue, because I knew you.' You brought joy into his life as he brought joy
to your lives."
"IF and WHY are words that travel down a long road, and they go nowhere
..." (second pastor).

"Hold onto those things (memories) but don't let them be a stumbling
block. Let them be a launching pad!" -- Rev. Glen Hopkins.

"He gave me a red belt to wear, and he told me he wanted me to wear it in
a special way that he had to wear his belts. He said I should wear it so it
hung down my leg in front, so every time I took a step my leg would bump
it. It would remind me each time of my responsibilities ... " -- SCA squire.

"Scott coordinated assembly (of Allison turboprop engines on SAAB
airliners) of starters, wiring harness, generators and the mounting system
which holds the engine to the wing ... Although his time was short, he made
a contribution. Scott guided production and installation of the generators
that produce the power that runs the lights on each wing tip -- lights that
look like stars. Each day, there are SAAB aircraft that carry Scott's star
high into the sky. If you look up at the planes in the sky, it could be one
that benefited from Scott's contribution, and carries his star." -- Allison
spokesman.

        (from the eulogy)
"Let me see you smile. This is a time of celebration. You weren't owed
nothing by the Lord. You were lucky to have 29 years ... it could have been
29 DAYS, or 29 MINUTES. Scott was not yours or mine. He belongs to God.

"You can be a slave to Satan or a slave to God. There ain't no other
choice. Ownership has been established ...

"Scott has gone home. Anyone scared to go home ... ain't NEVER SEEN home."
 
"Remember, it ain't over -- he's just MOVED."

        Following the funeral ceremony, volunteers carried floral arrangements to
one of two hearses which were to lead the cortege. Pallbearers followed the
casket to the leading hearse. The cortege took about 30 minutes to
organize, and was accompanied by police and a hired motorcycle escort
(sirens and flashing lights -- Jafar would have loved it!) for the
approximately 15-mile drive to the ceremony. The cortege tied up traffic
all over town, and Indiana apparently has a strictly-observed law that
other traffic moves to the side of the road when a cortege passes.

        At the cemetery, the family gathered for graveside services which
commenced as soon as the family portion of the cortege arrived. The
services were finishing as the final 60 or so people walked up. A solemn
circle of mourners, about 15 ranks deep, fanned out from the green canvas
tent which held the bier and casket. As the service was ending, family
members and funeral directors took apart many of the floral displays, and
moved among the mourners handing individual blossoms to each person. This
touching and unexpected gesture allowed each person to place a flower on or
next to the casket if they desired.

        As family members left the graveside tent, the mourners respectfully and
automatically made two aisles for them. It was hard to tell whether the
large crowd was expected, appreciated, or deplored by the departing family.
Possibly they were too numb at the time to feel any particular emotion;
faces were expressionless as they passed through.

        Many of the crowd of mourners were in tears, and some in extreme grief,
while the final respects were paid. Friends needed to support Scott's
fiancee (her highness) as she left the tent. There was very little
conversation and almost no movement for quite a while. One of the hearses
was equipped with an electronic bell-tolling device, which played on in
counterpoint to the sound of the gunning engine of a cemetery neighbor's
gasoline-powered off-road vehicle, and this lent an almost surreal effect
to the occasion.

        At one side of the group, a number of the SCA knights had gathered. More
and more of the Chivalry left the crowd to join the group, and then several
of the knights went through the crowd seeking out the remaining Chivalry at
Duke Dagan's request. The knights, about 28 in number, formed a circle. Few
felt the ability to speak; the circle held hands while Dagan said a few
words, then collapsed in a series of embraces. For some, it appeared to be
their first chance to release their pent-up emotions. Tears flowed freely,
especially as friends who had not seen one another in a long time met.

        At the suggestion of Sir Pieter Van Doorn, with the quiet concurrence of
His Majesty Palymar, the knights as a group sought out her highness. There
in the cemetery, the assembled Chivalry spontaneously knelt and, from
memory, swore the oath of fealty to her.

         It was perhaps the most unusual swearing of fealty ever in the history of
the Middle Kingdom -- and possibly the most affecting.

        Family and SCA gatherings were held in Noblesville after the graveside
service, but no details are known about them. Many of the gathering had
long trips to be completed back to homes in Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky,
Ohio and Illinois. Perhaps Jafar was able to gain a special traveling
blessing for the gathering -- as far as is known, everybody made it home
safely.

from Tim Moran/Sir Garrahan.

From: Aimee M Moran <amoran@ambersystems.com>
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Received on Mon Jan 5 10:45:09 1998