Friends may or may not know that my favorite TV show of all time is The West Wing. I have watched the complete series 10 times or more, and keep it on constant-loop on Netflix. I never tire of it, and have learned a ton through watching it. It doesnt always line up with my political views, but its awesomeness transcends ideology. The 10th episode of the first season was In Excelsis Deo, their Christmas episode that year. The episode focuses around one of the characters (Toby, the communications director), who learns that a homeless veteran picked up a coat he donated to Goodwill--and later died from exposure while sleeping near the Vietnam Memorial. Toby was appalled by the treatment the man was given by the system and uses the Presidents name to arrange for a full-honors funeral at Arlington for the Korean War Vet. I highly recommend watching the full episode, but this clip, of the funeral, is one of the most moving scenes in all seven seasons of the show. Prior to this scene, Toby goes to the tent city under a freeway to find the mans brother, and brings him to the cemetery for the funeral. The woman in the scene is Mrs Landingham, the Presidents personal secretary (who, we learn, lost her twin sons in Vietnam, at Christmas time). She was angry at Toby for using the Presidents name to pull strings to get the funeral and honor guard arranged--but also recognized the selflessness of his gesture, and asks to go along. https://youtube/watch?v=SXlPSXuJFDQ Trivia: BMXers may get a kick out of the fact that he is being buried in Section 43 of Arlington.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:06:35 +0000
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