to death while frantically hitting the back button with my mouse to escape from the religion ambush on the “look at Tyler” thread, I figured “hey - why not another way off-topic thread?”
Did anyone happen to notice that Man. United SOLD OUT Seahawks stadium in Seattle (which the Hawks never do)? 70,00 people showed up for a “soccer” game! Ratings for the Tour coverage are up over 200% - my old roomates parents are getting up at six every morning to watch live!
What the HELL is going on?
MH
I didn’t want to mention it, but I was riding on the road last week and drivers were downright curtious. It was FREAKING me out. Something’s going on. Something’s going on indeed.
I actually saw 17 people out riding bikes on my tuesday morning ride. 13 of them were people I have never ever seen before on tuesday.
Speaking of manchester united, I have tickets for saturdays practice and sundays match in Los Angeles!
Nah-Nah-Nah- I -Can’t-Hear-You…
I categorically refuse to be drawn into any discussions of theology, even in jest. Don’t care, don’t wanna know, leave me alone, all of you! :0)
Seriously, though,
My father died 2 weeks ago tonight, and after spending a full week with the mega-religious step family, I’ve had it up to the gills.
The church ceremony is completely out of my memory already - I honestly can’t say that it held my attention, let alone any meaning (for me.) The military burial service, on the other hand, will live with me forever. Pretty much everybody lost it when they played taps.
My father was a WWII vet, and being with his few remaining friends from the war, and seeing these ancient, tough as nails characters reduced to tears was a spiritual experience for me, and it gave me all the insight into my Father’s life, and what may or may not come after that the Pastor’s homily failed to.
Irony of ironys, the penultimate moment of this ceremony that sparked such an outpouring of emotion came when the President of The USA, via his surrogate, a US Army officer, thanked my father for his service to the nation.
My father, a died in the wool liberal Democrat, actively despised George W. Bush.
Somehow it didn’t seem to matter.
MH
although I never met your father, I would like to say thank you to him for what he gave us and the world. our freedom.
As for his personal view of George Bush. It seems that your father had a keen insight and was a good judge of a mans character.
My sincerest condolences for your loss
Your personal restraint is admirable. I finally broke down and posted a couple of brief rants on the subject, but didn’t want to prolong the agony.
My condolences for your loss. I’m also a vet, but I don’t count the Persian Gulf War(1991 Edition) as wartime service, so I only know about the bonds that form in the peacetime military. They are pretty tight.
I share your experience regarding the memorial service. I have always found that military, police and firefighter funerals are much more moving than your standard Christian burial. There is an unmistakable bond between the people in attendance and the one who has passed, and the ceremony reflects that the person was indeed (think about what that word means) a part of something larger than themselves, not merely someone being processed through the system.
I don’t mean to intrude(since I don’t know how much your father shared with you about his service, or your interest in knowing), but if you have not seen Band of Brothers, it is by far the most realistic(not simply filled with horrifying graphic violence), moving, and believable story of real WWII soldiers I have ever seen. I highly recommend it. It helps those of us too young to remember what real war is like understand it in small part, what it means to believe in something enough to be willing to fight for it, and finally, that there are times when war, as distasteful as it is for all of us, is sometimes the only option available.
As far as the ultimate moment, think of it like this: W is only a fleeting moment, while “The President of the United States” is an office, in charge of the welfare of this country, which your father served. In giving your father thanks for his service he was merely proxy to the hundreds of millions of people who were unable to do so personally.
Sorry for your loss,i never really liked my dad and he seemed to feel the same,so i was unprepared for how i felt when he died,still miss him greatly thirteen years later,but no taps for him,he was Merchant Marine,In WW2, was shot at,and oversees many times,but never was considered a vet by his country,But his brother recieved full Military Honors,never left the home land sitting at StMarks Fl looking for Submarines in the twenty foot deep water. Again sorry for your loss