A young Italian man was leaving a convenience store with his espresso when he noticed a most unusual funeral procession approaching the nearby cemetery.

A black hearse was followed by a second black hearse about 50 feet behind the first one. Behind the second hearse was a solitary older Italian man walking a dog on a leash. Behind him, a short distance back, were about 200 men walking in single file.

The man couldn't stand the curiosity. At the cemetery,he respectfully approached the Italian man walking the dog and said:

"I am so sorry for your loss, and this may be a bad time to disturb you, but I've never seen an Italian funeral like this. Whose funeral is it?"

"My wife's."

''What happened to her?"

"She yelled at me and my dog attacked and killed her."

He inquired further: "But who is in the second hearse?"

"My mother-in-law, she came to help my wife, then the dog turned on her."

A very poignant and touching moment of Italian brotherhood passed between the two men.

The younger man then asked: "Can I borrow the dog?"

The older man replied: "Get in line."