I watched the CA portion of the Ronald Reagan funeral service and was struck with the cynical thought that it was all set up so well in order to enshrine him as the greatest president ever. That view of the hills, the sunset, wow, it was almost as though he just played his last role in a movie. Oh, and I hate Larry King, the man is a jackass. He asked, I think it was Ed Meese, if he was surprised that Nancy broke down at the end, when she accepted the flag and wept at the casket. Jeez, she was married to the guy for half a century of course she is going to break down. They were expecting his death for sometime now, and had nearly a week to prepare for this, so of course through most of it she and her family were able to maintain their composure. But at that last moment when saying goodbye it is only natural to be struck with the finality of it and break down. And of course her kids are going to comfort her. Are people in the media told to act in such a moronic way? The shit that comes out of their mouths when it isn't scripted is beyond belief at times.
Ron Reagan gave a few jabs to modern politicians, which I thought was cool. Not only did he lovingly praise his father, but he implied that his father didn't use his religious beliefs for political benefit. Which was funny because his brother Michael spoke before that with a lot of Jesus talk that I found to be almost phoney.
I always liked Ron Reagan, I remember how brilliant he was when he had his on Fox show, it was sort of like the Dennis Miller show with less jokes. Course his sister hasn't aged well, but I still remember her Playboy spread way back when. Not bad.
Poor little Michael Reagan. I feel bad for that guy. He just seemed so left out of things. I could have sworn the ass-kissing priest who couldn't get off his knees while talking to Nancy, only mentioned Patti and Ron and neglected to mention Michael. Maybe I misheard it. But then when the kids go to comfort Nancy, Michael is in the back and it looked like he was blocked out of there. Sad.
Oh but back to the ass-kissing priest, he reminded me of Ray Milland in his later years, and he seemed so un-godly with his overly sweet praise for Reagan. Though I like how he mentioned that his father in South Africa had a big picture of Reagan in his house. How appropriate, Reagan who stood fast and firm in the face of a political system based on socialist ideology would be seen as a hero in a country with a political system based on a racist ideology that he did nothing about. Talk about an 'evil empire' a nation based on racial segregation.
Ah but I digress. I have to hand it to Arnold he didn't walk up and touch the casket or anything cheesey. Though I could have sworn that he made of sign of the cross backwards, while Maria did it correctly.
Well now that Reagan is laid to rest so begins the task of every politician attaching themselves to his image or legacy.

Oh and on a side note, I plan for a huge funeral pyre on a hill or a Viking funeral when I pass into the next world. A fire so big and glorious it can be seen from orbit. Of course there would be a lot of pageantry and it would be televised.