How many of us did what GWB just did? Eulogizing a dead parent?

[Aristus]

61. I spoke at my father's funeral. I wouldn't call it a eulogy.

My father was permanently embittered by my parent's divorce in 1985, even though it was his fault. He never forgave my mother for cutting him loose.

He went on to have a happy second marriage and a successful career. But he never grew up or moved on from the divorce.

When he was dying from pancreatic cancer, my sibs and I gathered to hear his funeral plans. He specifically disinvited our mother. I should have got up and walked out then and there. But I didn't.

At his funeral, I got up and addressed the assembly with a reading of his favorite poem. It was a pretty dry reading; I wasn't about to exert myself for the old buzzard. I helped bear his coffin to the hearse, and watched as he was buried. That was that.

Word of advice to anyone who wants a mournful, heartfelt eulogy at their funeral: don't be a hateful jerk to your family.