Doug, I admire anybody who can give the funeral oratory. I myself have stumbled through it once. I did what I've seen many others do before me, and break a small branch off a cedar to use as the sprig of acacia......
Soapweed, be proud of that honor guard, be they VFW, American Legion, or what have you. Those here at home are either too feeble to participate, or could care less. The boys from Ft. Riley know the way up here all too well anymore, and it seems like the weather is always at an extreme when they come.
One of our local "finest", and I use that loosely, had the nerve to ticket the driver of the military van, headed home to Ft. Riley, less than a mile from the Kansas border. He was going 7 mph over the limit, and they had been standing for quite a while at the cemetery while it was pouring rain. Those men were soaked, cold, and hungry. My brother threw the ticket out when it came across his desk.
