Today i tuned into the state funeral of former U.S. president George H.W. Bush, just as his son took to the podium at the National Cathedral. Dubya delivered a nice speech and I was moved towards the end when he broke down when reflecting on his pops. He didn’t hold back from showing emotion, something we don’t usually know him for. It also made me realize that no matter how rich and powerful of a family, we all can relate to the experience of a child with their parent.
This reminded me of an incredibly impactful documentary I saw a couple of nights ago, called THE WORK. It came out in 2017 but the footage started in 2009. Eric Whatshisname from IndieWire called it “possibly the most intimate capture of group therapy ever recorded.” It was groups of men allowing themselves to be vulnerable, to let their deep-seated pains and feelings flow out of them, to do ‘The Work.’
The stuff in the film is essentially the “grief work” that my counselor has been advising me to do since I buried my father in April, only that these guys had buried it for years even decades. That’s why it’s important to do it sooner than later.
After seeing that documentary, a few hours later I found myself drawn to the U.S. Capitol for the public viewing of George H.W. Bush. It was 1am in the morning. I thought it would be a neat thing to do while I’m back in DC. It was also my first time back inside that dome since I was a confused Congressional Intern the semester after Sept 11th, 2001.
Walking the halls of the brand new Capitol Visitors Center, I started thinking about when I got my dad a visitors pass so he could come experience the building and see his son in the halls of Congress like I had told him I would be one day.
