As Reverend Thomas peered at the somber assembly, folks settled into their allotted places.  The piano player was seated behind a display of fall foliage and pheasant feathers. Six large men in black suits, vaguely resembling each other, twitched against their tight, white collars and snug sleeve seams.

The choir, dressed in somber grey - showing little of the bright red lining inside their  reversible robes - filed in and called, with hallelujahs, the assembly to order.

At a sign from the right reverend, the congregation rose, as the family of the departed filed in and took their places.

A small funeral, in a small church, in a small town… and yet the bigness of the moment quieted even the most fractious child.

"We are here today, to say goodbye to our brother in Christ. That said, it is also of note that he was not perfect.
If any of you are, please let me know, so I can take notes.
No? …"
Reverend Thomas swept the room with a small smile, and the congregation twittered in response.
"Then let's proceed.  Today we will concentrate on the best of a life lived by a proud and imperfect man,Talmadge Birch Hampton…. "
And so it continued… an heroic effort not to speak ill of the dead.
In fact, T. B. Hampton had been, at best, a difficult man.

After the requisite hymns had been sung… the walk to, and service in, the graveyard had concluded.. the air seemed to breathe a sigh of relief

Folks wandered back into the fellowship hall for - what's called here - "light refreshment."

In fact, a funeral spread is one of the most lavish, and fancy, of our community spreads.  Most weddings don't offer as much comfort on a plate as you will find at a southern funeral.

Moreover, everyone, specially the women of the church, know who brought what by the platter it's on.

Mrs. Beckham always put her banana sandwich triangles on a turquoise glass rectangle… Sweet Sue Pernell carried her signature cherry pie in a brown earthenware pie plate … and Edna Hampton was known for her bright orange oversized platter filled with the best deviled eggs in the county.

As folks approached the funeral groan'n board, they were dumb-struck when they noticed that, on the orange platter, each half egg  (instead of be'n filled up with a tiny mountain of deviled yolk) had a flattened  yellow circle, upon which there were two tiny, black poppy seeds and a small sliver of pimento smile'n away to beat the band.

.................

Happy Widow's Deviled Eggs

Ingredients are plain and modest
A dozen eggs, hard boiled, and peeled.
Sliced in half
Designed to be filled.

Save the egg yolks in a separate bowl
Then mash till smooth and yellow gold
Add  half a cup of best mayonnaise
A splash of vinegar and a little pizzazz
Next a dose of mustard power
And a pinch of salt and paprika powder
Fill each half egg with the creamy mix
You've got deviled eggs!
That's it! Fort Pitt!