I watched much of the coverage yesterday morning of the funeral of President Gerald R. Ford. As a somewhat cynical person, certainly when it comes to politics, I don't often get a real patriotic feeling when watching our government in action. However, funerals of former presidents, as well as Inaguaration Days, do make me feel rather proud of our system. The fact that men and women who have, through the years, often been at odds with each other on certain issues can all come together to pay their respects in a civil and dignified manner says something positive about our system. The same goes for the transfer of power in our government. No matter how bitter and ugly a Presidential campaign can get, the transfer of power from one leader and administration to another is always peaceful and civil. That could be seen as hypocritical or it can be seen as an orderly system of rules and laws that is respected by all sides, winners and losers.
I thought that , generally, all the eulogies were quite good. Bush 41 was admiring of his former mentor and successfully injected some humor into the proceedings. Henry Kissinger was Henry Kissinger but, at times, seemed dangerously close to getting downright emotional. Tom Brokaw was a man who was on camera in front of millions of people for decades so I expected good things from him. The guy who continues to surprise me is George W. Bush, or Bush 43. This guy seems totally incapable of even "acting" dignified or Presidential. We know he's not too bright, we know he's arrogant despite his lack of enlightenment, but doesn't he know by now how bored he always looks at these very official and/or solemn occasions? Hasn't someone said, "Mr. President, you can't look like you don't give a damn today. You really need to at least act concerned, act remorseful, act respectful." I must admit, as cynical as I am, I still can't get over how either clueless George W. Bush is or how little he cares what the American people think.
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On a lighter note, my sons and I have been watching DVDs of the first season of Gomer Pyle starring Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton. I'm a little surprised at how funny it is although I shouldn't be. Remember, it was made by most of the same people involved with The Andy Griffith Show such as Sheldon Leonard, Aaron Ruben, Ron Jacobs, and used many of the same Andy Griffith Show writers like Everett Greenbaum and Jim Fritzell, Art Baer and Ben Joelson, and Harvey Bullock. There were even a couple of episodes written by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson. I'm almost positive that Marshall & Belson did not write any Andy Griffith Show episodes but they did write a good number of episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, I think eighteen in all. The shows that were filmed on that Desilu lot under the watchful eye of Sheldon Leonard, with the cooperation of Danny Thomas, during those golden years served as the equivalent to college courses for dozens of writers, actors, producers, and directors that would work in television comedy for the remainder of the 20th century. Thank heavens that DVDs are making so many of these shows available again for all to watch and enjoy.
And one more scary observation (I'm not kidding you this time, kids) - the worst of the shows from the 1960s or 1970s are better than about 85% of what's on TV today. Seriously.
