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Remembering Big Pete



Post funeral foods
UNH’s staff has made it clear there will not be a post funeral reception for the late Sidney Peter Pappin aka Big Pete they claim he didn’t want one.  Previous tenants who passed on always had some sort of gathering in the community room hosted by UNH’s.  Their decision upset a lot of Native Elders especially little Debbie.  :(
To give closure it’s the Native way by having a big feast when one passes on.  Today @ noon little Debbie and a group of her tenant friends arranged on their own to have a luncheon in her unit in honor of Sidney (Big Pete).  All tenants that knew Big Pete were invited and I’m glad to say 15+ tenants were in attendance.  I was the second to arrive then the rest showed up.  Little Debbie was a perfect hostess she offered refreshments and later invited us to the buffet.  OMG!  Allow me to talk about the buffet there was a large amount of fresh sandwiches, salads, cold cuts, fruit platter, cookies and deserts, juice, coffee and tea available.  Big Pete would have enjoyed the feast if he was still with us.  The social conversations were basically remembering the life of Big Pete.  We snarled a bit at UNH’s but soon moved on to better topics.  What I enjoyed the most was the interaction we all had with each other.  We shared and expressed sorrow, compassion, and joy and a few laughs as we talked about Big Pete’s life.  What made this a success was the effort and preparation the ladies went through.  After dessert, as I was about to leave and in front of all the guests I gave little Debbie a hug and thanked her for the invitation.  :)
Ohh Boy!  I had two helpings of food I’ll have to work it off at the gym later tonight.

One other thing I’d like to share with the readers and perhaps this has something to do on why UNH’s refused a post funeral luncheon for Big Pete.  Some time ago I’ve been informed by a reliable source which will remain anonymous.  To her co-workers HSC Ingrid Nosel has described the KMHC tenants as a bunch of spoiled rotten little children.  There are Native Elders living at KMHC and they demand respect and talking smack behind their backs is unacceptable.  I know Ingrid’s odd personality I once heard her say a derogatory comment about native people staring at her at Loretta’s post funeral reception held at a small banquet hall on Barton Street near Kenilworth Ave some years ago.

tk

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