Lando 
Posted on 12/15/2003 5:07:02 AM PST by IncPen
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - Former Sen. Paul Simon was memorialized in a musical and emotional service where he was hailed as a tireless champion of the oppressed and a decent man even to his adversaries.
The two-hour service at a Southern Illinois University arena was downright grand for a man who was famous for his modesty. It included a 60-piece orchestra and the rousing strains of ``Battle Hymn of the Republic,'' ``America the Beautiful,'' and Beethoven's ``Ode to Joy.''
The tribute was based on the instructions of the 75-year-old Simon, who died unexpectedly Dec. 9 in Springfield after suffering complications from heart surgery. He told his family years ago he wanted a low-key church funeral that didn't focus on him too much.
Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, who headed a list of speakers at the public service, compared Simon to his brother, Robert Kennedy.
``Paul Simon had that quality of moral courage in abundance,'' Kennedy said from the flower-covered stage. Simon's casket sat in front of it, topped by the art work of his grandchildren.
``He couldn't have cared less about the games of politics; that's why he was successful in politics,'' Kennedy told the crowd.
A number of mourners chartered planes or drove to this college town, which is about 120 miles from the nearest major airport. Among those attending were Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson, former Gov. Jim Edgar, Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, former U.S. Labor Secretary Lynn Martin and former U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard.
Former President Bill Clinton, originally scheduled to speak, sent his regrets after bad weather grounded his plane.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich linked Simon to Illinois, where the son of Lutheran missionaries first moved as a 19-year-old.
``He may have been born in Oregon, but he was raised on the values of the heartland of Illinois,'' Blagojevich said.
Simon moved to this college town in far southern Illinois to run for Congress in 1974, and returned 23 years later after he retired from politics to run a public-policy institute at Southern Illinois University.
People lined up outside the arena for more than an hour before the service.
There was Mari Schneider, a travel agent who booked Simon's flights; Tameka Jackson, a graduate student who worked in his office; and Earl Czajkowski, a blind man Simon was trying to help buy a computer when he died.
``What struck me is that he stood in line at (the campus) McDonald's,'' Jackson, 26, said, as she braced herself against the freezing wind. ``Not many big people do that.''
Notice the inherent dignity of a funeral that Bill Clinton can't attend.
I meant to note that the bold sections above highlight parts the article that merit special attention, for irony.
Lando
Oh B.S. I'd like to know where the skunks plane was allegedly grounded. Not enough cameras, and Simon wasn't an important enough person in a historical context for Billy Jeff to appear. He found out C-Span wasn't going to cover it and he most likely would've had to follow Teddy,which surely he found unacceptable.'The Liar Extraordinaire' just couldn't make it to this one,could he? It is entirely possible that he invited himself to that funeral and the Simon family took matters into their own hands, isn't it? LOLOLOL
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