Summer '09 Philosophy

Tomorrow will be a busy day here at the manse. I don't have to go to school, but I do have to do all those things I said I would do this summer and failed to find all that important until the last second. It will be a mad rush for about an hour and then I will give up and just sit back to enjoy those last few seconds of freedom. I also need to go register my car because that is one of those things I put off and it's kind of important. At least to those people who think I should be current on all the appropriate taxes...

As I reflect back on this year's summer break, I can't help but acknowledge the appalling number of losses we experienced. It felt as if every time I turned around there was another breaking news story about someone who passed away and whose life was somehow notable. Of course, I knew none of them what with my being a very busy individual with no time for hobnobbing amongst the stars. But I still sort of took it personally. I now feel an overwhelming urge to purchase any and all products every hawked by pitchman Billy Mays as if that will somehow make up for my not doing so when he told me to...

Last night, I found myself particularly moved while watching the interment of Senator Kennedy. I set aside that sock I so desperately want past the heel point so I'll have some mindless knitting for Tuesday's teacher workshops in order that I might watch without distraction. I'm not normally one for televised funerals. But, for some reason, I was transfixed.

I commented on this to the Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty. He was the only other one awake and since he was right there on my foot, he seemed like the obvious choice as a pondering partner. He had little to offer in the way of insight, but I found him to be a pretty good listener while I ran through the possible reasons for my rapt attention during the ceremony.

Maybe it was the soft Irish lilt of the priest. Or maybe it was the way the darkness gathered, making the Eternal Flame more prominent. It could have been the sight of the military pall bearers and the dignity with which such people always seem to carry themselves during these events. The speakers were certainly moving and they could have been the cause of my unusual attention level. Maybe it was the fact that, for once, we were seeing the life of a Kennedy played out to the end rather than cut brutally short.

It could also be the fact that I have reached an age where I actually recognize some of the players. When someone of a certain vintage passes, it is no longer "just some old dude." Instead it is someone whose life, while not ever intersecting mine, ran parallel to it and was a part of my view for as long as I can remember. I suppose that, if I were being totally honest, there was a great deal of that going on. For my entire life, there has always been a Ted Kennedy. I cannot picture the senate without him in it.

Maybe it was just a moving service, nothing more nothing less.

In the end, the cat and I didn't really come up with much more than that. The AGK isn't much of a philosopher and I can only deep-think for two for so long before I peter out. Finally, I hoisted the big guy up on my lap, dug deep for what I knew about the Kennedy family and said,

"Well...I imagine there is a hell of a football game going on in heaven right now."

SA