Funerals

I'm not a big fan of funerals. The obvious reason is you go to funerals because somebody died. And that's not usually a good thing.

However, there comes a time when you must go to a funeral. If it's your funeral, it's always good to show up. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn went to theirs, after all. And so should we. Still, the idea of getting all dressed up and going to a funeral isn't something I like to do.

I've not been to lots of funerals in my life, but still more than I'd like to go to. I'm not sure the first one I went to. When I was little, I never was sure just why we got all dressed up, went to church, and heard some man stand up and yell at us. So, if it was a funeral, or regular church, I didn't know the difference.

My first grandfather's funeral (I had two grandfathers, both now deceased) back in 1968 is the first one I have a real clear memory of. And I was nearly 10 years old when I went to that one. I'm sure I went so some before that, but I just don't remember them.

The most recent funeral I went to was the Wife's great-aunt just a couple of weeks ago. And, when it's time to go to a funeral, we here in the south (at least the Baptists do) have a routine.

We get all dressed up, we try to get there early, we try to find a back pew if we're not a pall bearer, and, lots of time, we get in line to look in the casket and remark how "they sure look natural, don't they?"

The service starts, usually 3-5 minutes late because it always takes longer than expected for the family to come in and sit down because someone can't follow the funeral home crew's instructions on things. But, that's to be expected.

The folks that speak do their speaking about the dearly departed. Those that sing songs sing songs that they think the dearly departed loved, whether or not they had ever even heard the song. And everyone maintains a somber tone. After all, it's a funeral.

But, every now and then, some folks decide to act like they ain't had no proper raising and turn the funeral into something else.

Not at any funeral I've ever been to. But on the soap operas. And when some Democrats speak.

Recently, you might have heard about the funeral of Coretta Scott King. Four presidents showed up for that one. Usually, it's got to be another dead president or other head of state for something like that to happen. But, because of the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, and the work of Mrs. King since her husband's murder, four presidents showed up.

Then they let Rev. Joseph Lowery and Jimmy Carter speak.

Both George Bushes and Bill Clinton were up there acting like it was a funeral. Joseph Lowery and Jimmy Carter acted like asses.

Now, I don't know much about what funerals Joseph Lowery has been going to, but Jimmy Carter is a Baptist and is from southwest Georgia. I'm a Baptist from southeast Georgia. There can't be that much difference between how one's supposed to act at a funeral.

Anyway, I'm not so much ticked off because them two turned it into a Bash Bush Rally. I expect them to bash the President. But not at a funeral.

Seems to me that when Bill Clinton's around and he's better behaved than you are, you got some serious problems.