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Thousands Expected to Line Calcutta Cortege

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Mother Teresa signed this picture for John Ebert on her birthday.
CALCUTTA — The funeral will be elaborate, but Mother Teresa's final resting placewill be a simple room inside her Calcutta covenant. Her coffin will beplaced in a simple tomb, sealed with slabs of white marble. Thousands areexpected to line the streets of Calcutta for the funeral, including WRAL'sDavid Crabtree.

During David's travels around the city of Calcutta, he has met people fromaround the world including a recent UNC graduate. The ring of love isgone around St. Thomas Church. Those were the last people waiting to paytheir final respects to Mother Teresa. The lines were closed by themilitary early Friday. In doing so, many people became frustrated.

The frustration boiled over when word spread church doors had been locked.Those who were waiting in line were told to leave. The military kept thecrowd under control as India's president arrived in Calcutta. All of thiswas just another day at the office for UNC graduate Anubha Anand, now aproducer for Associated Press television.

"There are times when you wake up and you feel like Chapel Hill doesn'texist because you are in such a different place," Anand says. "You wakeup and the sounds are different. The smells are different. Absolutelyeverything is so chaotic here."

It was here team that broke the story of Mother Teresa's death. Anandsays it was thrilling to be involved with the breaking story. She creditsa team effort for the success.

While she misses North Carolina, Anand loves her work in India andunderstands why some volunteers leave everything behind to work for MotherTeresa.

"There are some people who are looking for a very different world," Anandexplains. "They come here and there are so many possibilities. There isso much stimulus."

WRAL found one of those people. He's a former Massachusetts StateTrooper seriously injured in a motorcycle accident years ago. In 1994, hedecided to give it all up, move to Calcutta, and work with Mother Teresa.He was located at #7 Royd Street.

John Ebert has worked with Mother Teresa's order for three years. Todaywith his five-year-old son by his side, he's working with the badlydiseased foot of a man with leprocy.

Some of John's friends and his ex-wife told him he was going through amid-life crisis, but he knew otherwise.

"They said you'd never see her. You'd never work with her. You'll nevermeet her," recalls Ebert. "And I arrived not only to meet her but to joinher."

They became friends. Only a week before her death, she signed a picturefor John. It was the day of her 87th birthday.

On the streets of Calcutta, John's patient tries to take his mind off thepain by entertaining a crowd that comes to watch the brother of theSisters of Charity. John is proud of the example he's giving his son. Heknows he'll be back at work tomorrow.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is heading up the American delegation. Severalheads of states from the around the world are in Calcutta. That hascaused a bit of a security problem. WRAL understands there has been anall-points bulletin looking for air conditioned buses. There are only 12in the entire city of Calcutta, and 30 were needed.

As of Friday night, that need had been met.

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