Grumpa Joe's Place

Yesterday, I watched the funeral of John McCain at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. I failed to watch the earlier honorarium but did watch men from different branches of service carry his coffin up the Capital stairs. The precision they maintained while going up those steps while holding the coffin level. I wonder how much practice it takes to become that good.

I was having a late breakfast when I turned on the TV to learn the news at a point where the attendees were awaiting the hearse. That was it for me I sat watching for the rest of the morning. As a boy I was privy to attending  many funerals in our parish as an altar boy. The Episcopalian rite seemed to be somewhat different from a Catholic one. They dispensed with the incense burning and blessing of the coffin driving away all evil spirits from the body.

What always amazes me is to see our Past Presidents sitting together having a jovial time enjoying the privileges without the responsibility. Obama sat in the first row in pew one, Michelle was next to him. George W. and Laura Bush were next, and then Bill Clinton and Hillary. Missing were Trump, Carter, and George H.W. Bush. Oh-ho I thought, Trump must surely be holding a grudge against hero John. Later I learned that Trump was not invited nor was Sarah Palin. That is one for the books, and I’ll never figure it out.

The highlight of the eulogies was when McCain’s daughter Meghan presented. It takes courage and strength to speak about a loved one while grieving. I recall attending my own father’s funeral thinking I could never speak to the congregation without total emotional breakdown. As it was my oldest nephew did the job, and did so admirably, but even he had a few moments of emotional breakdown. Yet, here was McCain’s daughter doing a fantastic job of presenting. A few times she lost it for a few seconds, but she just took a deep breath, regained her composure and moved on. When she made her newsworthy comment , , , “The America of John McCain has no need to be made great again because America was always great.” I remembered her left leaning politics that put her in opposition to her conservative dad. During their lives together I often thought how good a father he was to allow her to own a political philosophy the opposite of his without any remorse.

Later, in one of the eulogies, I forget which, the speaker told of when McCain was captive in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp for five and a half years, and how he, after his release, was able to forgive his captors. I’m not sure I could do that, in fact I’m not sure I could endure five and a half years of brutal captivity and torture, and as much as i try to be a Christian I really don’t think I could have forgiven them as a country or a people. It takes a super-human person to do that.

That afternoon, when I learned that Donald Trump was not invited to the funeral I thought how strange. McCain the POW forgave his torturer but he can’t forgive Trump. In retrospect I began to think of what I would do if I knew I was dying, and there was a demon eating away at the core of my mind.  It is the only rational explanation I can invent to explain his complete hypocrisy at the end of his exemplary life.

On the upside of this funeral ceremony were the many accolades and stories told by his friends. One of the most hilarious came from no other than Obama. He said, . . . “After all, what better way to get a last laugh than to make George and I say nice things about him to a national audience.”

Filed under: Aging, Conservative, family, Government | Tagged: Eulogy, Patriot, Warrior | 1 Comment »