A bagpiper was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for an elderly homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be held at a graveyard next to a small village church. The bagpiper was not familiar with this area, he got lost and, being a proud man, didn’t ask for directions.
Finally, two hours late, he arrived and saw the funeral director had already gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left, and they were eating lunch. He felt very bad and apologised to the men for being late. He went to the side of the grave and looked down to see the vault lid already in place. Not knowing what else to do, he started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around the bagpiper. He played out his heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. And as he played ‘Amazing Grace,’ the workers began weeping. They wept, he wept, they all wept together.
When he finished, he packed up his bagpipes and started for his car. Though his head hung low, his heart was full. As he opened the door to his car, he heard one of the workers say, “I never seen anything like that before, and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for 20 years.”