If you've taken my class, you know I'm a fan of Dan Barry's writing. The NYTimes wisely sent him to Boston yesterday to cover the Kennedy funeral. Read the story for its simplicity, detail and a touch of Dan's own Irish-Catholic soul.
After President Obama delivered his eulogy, Cardinal O’Malley commended Mr. Kennedy to his maker. Ten pallbearers, all of the next Kennedy generation, slowly wheeled the coffin down the aisle, as the huge, 3,200-pipe organ above played and the congregation serenaded this lion of the Senate with “America the Beautiful.”
At the portal, the honor guard unfolded the American flag, their white gloves looking like fluttering doves that were gently draping the flag over the coffin. Then it was back down those wet gray steps, one by one, gently, and back into the Boston rain.
The eight-member honor guard guided the coffin across the slate-and-brick patio, while soldiers and police officers came to attention. As the coffin was eased back into the hearse’s bed, under the gaze of a widow’s aching eyes, it received a crisp salute.
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