As the eldest son - the only son - I was tapped to officiate the funeral service. I prepared an informative and educational talk based on a blogpost about my father's military service; specifically his service in the 666th Field Artillery Battalion, and how these particular soldiers reconciled their service with the distinction of being labelled with the number of the Antichrist. The way these soldiers of the Greatest Generation handled the reconcilation process showed an unusual degree of sobriety and maturity that stands in stark contrast with the idiotic way we've handled our military affairs this decade.
My sister Michelle, who has been largely responsible for my father's affairs, took one look at what I was proposing and rejected it out-of-hand. "These people are looking for closure," she said. "They want the service to be about Dad. Most of the guests will be Catholics, and the rest of them will be evangelical Protestants, and you just can't throw around religious symbols at a funeral without causing trouble!"
She was right, of course. Officiating a funeral service is not the same thing as delivering a history lecture. So, uplift and remembrance it will be, with the speeches as brief and inspirational as possible.....
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