Lola Bats story 6: Sinukat ngunit kulang

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Biboy reminded me of this story during dinner time...

One time, Daddy, Biboy, Lola Bats, Anna, and I (not sure where Mommy was) attended the funeral of one of Lola's godchildren in Batangas.  After the Mass, we all trooped down to the Cuenca public cemetery to witness the burial. In this particular cemetery, most of the graves were above ground; many of the graves were even on top of each other.

Because of the above-ground nature of the graves, the cemetery personnel had to make sure that the casket would fit into its designated grave. After the final prayers, the deceased was brought to its final resting place. But because the cemetery was already crowded, it was difficult to manoeuvre the casket around corners and finally into the grave. But that's just when the problem started. The cemetery staff were having difficulty putting the casket into the grave because the casket was too long! Perhaps, the staff did not consider the thickness of the cement used for the grave or the length of the casket; they just couldn't seal the grave after an hour of trying.

Lola Batangas was puzzled about why it was taking such a long time for the burial to end. So she scaled two graves on top of each other and stood there, watching over the proceedings. With arms akimbo, she asked the people by the grave, "Bakit hindi pa rin tapos ang libing?"

 One of the staff replied, "Ala-eh! Sinukat naman namin kanina ang nitso ngunit kulang! Mahaba ang kabaong!"

This exchange caused everyone who was there to laugh. At this time of sadness, the relatives and friends of the deceased were ready for some comedy... and Lola Bats unintentionally provided some humour.

Deciding that it would take more time before the burial concluded, Lola Bats descended from the graves and told us that it was time to go. Alas, we didn't get to see how the cemetery staff solved the case of the short grave.

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