A Very Washington Funeral

A death is almost always shocking, not least when no signs of illness are visible and no warnings manifest themselves in other ways. It was under these circumstances that I was informed of David Wimer's death early this week. The funeral was yesterday afternoon in a small, simple church that was packed to capacity. A number of people were standing in the back of the church for lack of space, among whom were Alexander Haig and Jerry (L. Paul for the non-personal) Bremer. As someone at the funeral commented afterwards, it's a tribute to the kind of guy that David was that the pallbearers have to squeeze between Al Haig and Jerry Bremer to get out of the door! Indeed. Later, at David's house, a number of fairly influencial Washingtonians held forth on various matters that merely reminded me how close David was to the centers of power in the world. He wouldn't have thought anything of the gathering -- these were his friends, after all. But for a poor cajun from a now defunct homeland, it was an impressive testament to a life well-lived.

Goodbye, David. We miss you already.