Scenes from a Funeral

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Pope Francis, the recently deceased spiritual leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, was eulogized and celebrated at an enormous funeral in Vatican City over the weekend and then laid to rest in a simple wooden coffin in the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.  

The United States was represented at the international gathering by two Presidents.  Former President Biden and his wife, Jill, both dutiful Catholics, attended the solemn occasion dressed in black, in accordance with the Vatican dress code and standard etiquette at a funeral.   Melania Trump, the current First Lady of the United States also showed up appropriately attired for a funeral in a black dress and even wearing a black veil.  She almost had a Jackie Kennedy at JFK's funeral vibe about her.  But Don Trump, the current US chief executive, chose to go a different route.  He opted to wear a bright blue suit highlighted by a bright blue tie - where he would (and did) stand out from the crowd.

With Trump, it is always about him.

There were a couple of moments at the Pope's funeral which seemed to offer up subtle messages about the US President.  For one, there was applause when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky entered St. Peter's Square and took his seat, an obvious rebuff to Trump who got no such welcome.  The recognition of Zelensky by the international crowd certainly helped to balance out the intentional humiliation that Trump and Vance inflicted upon him at the White House in front of the press two months earlier.

Every dog has his day, an axiom bullies forget at their peril.

Also there was an interesting scene where President Macron of France walked right by Trump, ignoring the American's extended hand.  Whoopsie.

But the most memorable Trump moment of the funeral was when a photographer snapped a shot where the elderly politician in the bright blue suit appeared to be asleep.  It was an ironical situation for a man to be in  who used to routinely insult his predecessor as being "Sleepy Joe."  It was a moment of comeuppance which I found to be deeply satisfying - and  Sleepy Joe probably did, too.

"Drowsy Don," anyone?