Pat Murphy's Irish Wake

Well, Pat Murphy finally died. Being Irish, his family and neighbors decided to have an old-style Irish wake for him, much like in those scenes in The Wire. Yes, people would tell anecdotes about him, eat, drink, laugh, and generally not act with English solemnity. The Irish wake is supposed to be a celebration of the person's life, not a macabre dwelling on the shades. No Dies Irae, no Closer Walk With Thee.*

Well, Pat was known to be a lifetime supporter of the Red Sox. He had season tickets for the games, even in the barren years. He lyrically sang the praises of Williams and Yaz, of Fenway Park, and of Southie. He had his Charlie Card to ride the M.T.A. to the games, and wore a blue cap with a red B on it.

Cheapness ran in the Murphy family, though. And when it came time to select his final place of repose the family requested the cheapest coffin in stock. The undertaker asked, "Are you sure?"

The widow assented, as did the eldest of Pat Murphy's sons.

Again the undertaker demurred, and then finally showed the coffin that, for the luvva Mike, he just could not move in Boston. It was at half price of the others:

They cringed a bit, but said, "The old boyo won't know anyway!"

When family and friends saw Pat Murphy in that Yankee coffin, they laughed uproariously! And his old friend Sean Aloysius Flaherty said, "This will raise old Pat from the grave if anything will! 

*Proper term for a New Orleans funeral with music, though.