Funny or sad?

Okay, I have a little story to spin. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it is funny or just plain sad.
Flashback:
The Saturday after Christmas I took photos for a couple who were renewing their wedding vows. I took over one thousand pictures. This was a free service that I was providing, but they still gave me five hundred dollars for my time. In return, I felt I’d make them up a picture boo, which I put great effort into creating.
Fast-forward:
So, yesterday I paid a visit to my older sister’s church, to deliver the photo book. Two, the be exact. I was late, of course, because I can never remember when their church service starts. Thank goodness my sister ’em go to one of those churches that it doesn’t really matter how late you are, because it’s a sure bet that service will still be going on when you get there. By the time I arrived at the church the minister, my sister’s father in-law, was in the middle of his sermon. So, I just stayed outside and in the foyer and watched on the cheap television sets they had set up other there. Whatever.

Anyway, once church let out, people start slowly filing out. Since I use to attend this church, before they moved to their current location, a lot of the people are stopping to speak, hug and ask me if I knew the slain officer. Among these people that came out was this one young man, who asked me how I was doing and went on to tell me how he has been out at the clubs to watch me but the rowdy patrons in check. I have no idea who this man is, but I get up and shake his hand. After I have proved this courtesy, I take my seat and wait for the one person I had come to see to come out. However, apparently, our conversation isn’t over; because home boy sits down and begins to tell me the story of his life, over the past three years. (No joke).

So, as he is spinning his tell, I am going over in my head, who this man is. It finally dawns on me that this is Dowdy, a guy I use to hang out with when I was in high school. Wow, had he aged badly. Balding hair, swollen bags under his eyes, sprouts of grey in the hair. I hadn’t seen the man since we’d broken ties and he started robbing his pour grandmother blind.

So, after all is said and done, and I have finished talking to this boy, spoke to other members of the congregation, handed over the book and fought the bride not to force more damn money on me; I went over to my mom’s house. I told my mom how I had ran into Dowdy, but at the time I could not recall his name. What I actually said way, “Hey, mom, guess who I saw at church today.”

“Who?” mom inquires.

“What was the name of that guy who was stilling from his grand mom? I ask. “You know, the lady who use to live across the street for the church…”

“Oh, Dowdy?” my mom asked. She was both surprised and happy with the news. “I haven’t seen him in ages. I didn’t know he was going to Blank Chapel. How is he doing?”

“He changed a lot,” I say. “I didn’t even recognized him.”

I have a great time with my family, including my cousin and ‘em. Even came close to whooping my little nephews butt. Then I went home to get some sleep, before I have to go into work.
Okay, here comes the funny (or sad) part. Around ten, that night, I get a call from my older sister; and here is how that conversation went (oh, and she had my mom on three way).
Sis: Hey, boy, I didn’t see Dowdy at church today.

Me: “Yeah.”

Sis: “Where was he? I didn’t see him.”

Me: “Yes, you did. You spoke to him.”

Sis: “When?”

Me: (Exasperated) “Sis, you spoke to him when you came over to talk to me. Remember. He got up and gave you a hug?

Sis: “Boy, that wasn’t Dowdy. That was Fred.”

Me: “Fred?”

Sis: “Yeah, Fred….He use to date Nikki.”

Me: “Oh, was that Fred? Well, why did he sit down and hold a conversation with me? We weren’t friends.”

Sis: “Boy, you crazy.”

The end.

-One Man’s Opinion. Peace.