A bagpiper was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for an old, homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be held at a cemetery in the country. The bagpiper had stopped playing funerals, recently, but the story of this poor man's death made him agree to play. As the bagpiper was not familiar with the area, he got lost and being a proud man, didn’t ask for directions.
Finally, an hour late, he arrived, and saw the funeral director had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There was only the digging crew left, and they were eating lunch. He felt very bad and apologized 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. He played out his heart and soul for this poor, old man with no family and friends. And as he played ‘Amazing Grace,’ the workers began to weep. 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 was approached by the crew's foreman: “Sir, I want to thank you for your performance here, today. I've never experienced anything like that, before, and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for the last twenty years!"
