Thank you to all of my DU friends. I love you all, but I don't deserve you.

Thanks for your many condolences and well wishes. Thank you to everyone who remarked on my Dad's military service. A big hug to everyone who was reminded of a death of their own loved one. :hug: Thank you to everyone who compared me favorably to him; :blush: I'll take those as very welcome compliments.

To those who asserted that he must have led a remarkable life, I should tell you that the late King Hussein of Jordan considered him a personal friend and a friend of his country.

He will be buried next week with full military honors. A burial should be an apolitical event, but I can't tell you how pleased and relieved I will be when the Sergeant of the Honor Guard brings the folded flag to my Dad's wife and says: "On behalf of the President of the United States..." that it will be on behalf of a President my father respected, and would have been honored to serve.

The Ancient Romans measured their lives by saying: "In the Year of the Consuls So-And-So and Thus-And-Such."

Europeans used to measure their lives by: "In the reign of King Blueblood the XVII."

We Americans, who have no kings, still occasionally measure our lives by who is President at a time of important personal events. And we have one of whom we can be proud...

on behalf of a grateful nation. The president is irrelevant.

Learned that during my Dad's service.

I would like to present this flag to you as a token of our esteem and respect."

I used to do military burials when I was in the Army. Although, I swear it used to be "On behalf of the Congress of the United States..." I could be wrong about that...

Different branches, different years. Both said 'grateful nation'.

I think that is the standard because the person being honored didn't necessarily serve under the current President.

Thank you for your eloquent post. I hope you are surviving these days as well as anybody can. :hug:

Ah, you do deserve us, sweetie...

Perhaps we don't deserve you...

Such a big-hearted, generous, lovely guy...

I am proud to call you friend, and I hope that all of us brought you some small measure of comfort during this time of searing loss...

:hug:

when you're ready to share them.

:hug:


:loveya:

It was being broadcast from the hotel where my parents were staying, but the ballroom hosting the telethon was closed to visitors. My father walked up to the hostess and said: "Have you got my nametag? I'm on in ten minutes." He gave her some name, (maybe even his own) and the poor girl flipped through the guest roster looking in vain for his name. My dad acted more and more agitated, pleading with her to get him admitted to the ballroom. She did something like "I'm sure it's here, sir! It MUST be here!" I've forgotten the denoument of the story, but my Dad, the old scoundrel, liked to use it as an example of the things you can accomplish if you do them with confidence.

Not sure why I thought of that particular story, but I can imagine my mother standing there with him, wanting to faint dead away...

:hi: lizzie! :loveya: right back!

I beg to differ.

You deserve all of that love and more.

:hug:

It's a little overwhelming...

:hi::hug: