[MysticCat]

I wasn't meaning/trying to flame, and I hope it didn't come across that way. Sorry if it did.

But I think there is some sense that much of what we are seeing with Reagan's funeral is somewhat unique. This may stem from the fact that this is the first State Funeral in 31 years -- the only president to die since LBJ (1973) was Nixon, and his burial was kept quiet and private at his family's request, given the circumstances of his leaving office. And of course, JFK's State Funeral is etched into our minds because, again given the circumstances, we've seen parts of it so many times. But much if not most of what we are seeing -- including the procession through Washington and lying in state in the Rotunda -- is indeed part of the tradition of a State Funeral, at least "recently," according to what I've been reading in the Washington Post and elsewhere. And I think that's good -- while a family may have specific desires regarding where the funeral proper will be held (Kennedy's was at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, other presidents' have been elsewhere including their hometowns), I think it's rights for us to have traditions that say "when a president dies, this is what we do." (ETA: It should be noted that permission of survivors is required for a body to lie in state in the Rotunda -- I don't know whether the survivors of any presidents in the last 100 years or so, other than Nixon's, and declined.)

Again, sorry if it sounded like I was trying to start a flame.