Having been to several funerals for relatives of mine in rural Tennessee, I’ve witnessed something amazing each time. It is an amazing display of respect, that simply does not happen in the “big city”. And growing up in a metropolitan suburb I was awe struck the first time I witnessed it and it still amazes me whenever I see it.

Every funeral I’ve been to in rural Tennessee involved the funeral procession having to go through quiet rural roads. And each time I would see people literally stop their cars as the funeral procession drives by. Many times, the people who stop, out of respect even get out of their cars and stand in respect for our loss. This display of respect for our recently departed loved one makes me want to cry. Everyone stops, no matter the race, no matter if they knew my loved one well or disliked them. Even the most staunch racist in town will stop if driving on the road that day. All to show respect for a person that passed on. This is one aspect of Southern Hospitality that I wish the “big city” would learn.

Yesterday President Bush “pulled to the side of the road”, got out of a jet plane and tried to pay respects to Coretta Scott King. As I’ve mentioned before, Bush had little or nothing to gain politically by going. Little did he know that people like Joseph Lowery, Jimmy Carter and the members of the congregation that cheered them on would basically roll down their car windows and spit on him! You would hope that for one moment in time partisan bickering would cease to respect and honor the life of a woman who tried to do good for mankind. For some that is simply impossible. For them, seeing someone “pulling by the side of the road” to show respect, is nothing more than an opportunity to take pop-shots at them.

As was mentioned in a write-up I cited in my funeral coverage, CS King stood by Bush, as he laid a wreath at the tomb of Martin Luther King Junior. She stood respectful of the President’s visit, while some hecklers were across the street. It is a shame that the ring leaders of the hecklers were allowed to speak yesterday.