Saw a grown man freeze at a funeral reception, two sides to that story?

At my uncle's funeral last month in Dayton, a guy in his 50s completely froze when the widow asked him to say a few words, and he just stood there silent for a full 20 seconds before mumbling about the potato salad. I've been thinking about whether that moment was a total social failure or actually a honest and human response to grief that no one should judge. Has anyone else witnessed a frozen silence like that, and did you feel more awkward for them or more understanding of what they were going through?

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grantmartinez12d ago

Grabbed the mic at my buddy's wake and just said "Dave made the best burnt chili, I'm gonna miss that moron." Nailed it in five seconds. Sometimes less is more, frozen guy was probably doing the math on how to say the real stuff without losing it.