the Strange Untried

I worked today and made my usual stops at my usual clients and all of them were watching coverage of President Ford's funeral.

I was struck by the tradition of service, but I think most of all I was struck by the reactions of people who seemed genuinely moved by the event. There was no snark, no nasty political jabs, nothing of the sort. People were respectful not only of Gerald Ford but his family. I looked at his frail widow and thought What must she think of all this? But she was a trooper. And now she can go home and grieve. She has just lost half of herself. How does one go on after the loss of a partner who stood at your side for a lifetime?

Ishmael:

Death is only a launching into the region of the strange Untried;it is the first salutation to the possibilities of the immense Remote, the Wild, the Watery,the Unshored.

Herman Melville {1819-1891} Moby Dick 1851