His friends and loved ones are genuinely unhappy at his death, and the circumstances surrounding it. They tell some good stories about him, and have obviously heard the other not-so-nice stories about his political life and acts. I mowed the lawn this evening when the funeral was on, but came in for a drink of water when Ron Reagan was telling a story about Reagan's "thumbs up" sign. When confronted with someone (with a fearsome visage, according to the younger Reagan) who flipped the family the bird as they passed by in their limo, Ronald senior quipped that his thumb's up signal was catching on. I do believe this story was told to try to embarrass those folks who disliked Reagan and made outward shows or remarks of their displeasure with the former president. The pro-Reagan folks clearly have the spotlight this week, but at the same time, are probably trying to preserve good manners by not flipping the bird back at the nay-sayers. This was one attempt to do so.

SRS