The Good Son

I read the transcript of Ron Reagan's appearance on the Larry King Show. This is a decent man, articulate and serious. Not to mention that although he is a liberal at odds with the right-wing ethos, Ron had a lot of love and respect for his father. It shows in the eulogy he gave for his dad, and in the way he talked about their relationship. I got a little misty about his little anecdote about him riding on his dad's back in the pool when he was a kid. And his description about what he was going through as multitudes of people, obscure and famous, paid their final respects, made me think back to important (both celebratory and mournful) ceremonies that I have attended. For me personally, it wasn't so much about my own feelings on the occasion that made them important. What's more important was the fact that I could look around me at the time and see so many people feeling the same thing. It puts even more emphasis on your emotions. In the case of funerals, nothing makes me want to break down more than looking at and listening to other people who feel what you feel (often even more powerfully); people who are there for the same reason you are: to give honor to the one who has departed -- to give thanks for the goodness that person has brought to their lives.

I may fault Reagan Sr. for a lot of things, but I give him whatever is his due for how his son turned out.