Thick crowds all along the procession route as Jack's casket travelled from city hall to Roy Thompson Hall for an unprecedented State Funeral. If you are a Canadian, you probably watched. If you're not it's hard to explain how much this man meant to a country so yearning for a positive, inclusive, dignified change from our stale and caustic political scene at all levels. He has been called part Gandhi, part Martin Luther King Jr., part Trudeau, and part bar band guitar player! His love for family and his hope for his granddaughter's future glowed in the video tribute.
So you either feel it itensely, or not. I joined the tens of thousands watching on screens by the hall. The most emotional moments included the invocation from a B.C. native elder to bless the space "so a good result could happen". Jack's favourite songs ---- including his optimistic theme song Rise Up sung with exuberance by friend Lorraine Segato. The dignity of wife Olivia, reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy in her finest hour. The warm/funny/personal words of Jack's minister (dressed in academic robes so as to respresent all faiths). Roaring cheers, standing ovations, and applause as Canada's most eloquent speaker, Stephen Lewis, invoked Jack Layton's social justice Manifesto as Canada's call to action. Tear-jerking, heart-wrenching, spirit-moving.
"My friends, change is just around the corner because I can already hear her breathing...".
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