I was having coffee with a dear friend last Monday morning when she quietly said, "I suppose you heard that Jack Layton died?"  I was dumbfounded.  I had not heard.  That can't be, I wanted to scream, he's just at the pinnacle of his career!  He's the BEST thing that's happened to Canadian politics in years!!  

But, whoever said that life is fair?

As this past week has unfurled it seems I was not alone in these sentiments.  An unprecedented outpouring of appreciation for the man and his ideals spread across the country. Culminating in his amazingly diverse and original state funeral yesterday ...  a funeral which Jack Layton himself had a big hand in arranging during his final weeks.  It reflected so much that he had worked towards in his life - the inclusion of ALL Canadians in this great country of ours.

I particularly liked this post on the CBC website:

"Imagine. A state funeral that includes a First Nations summoning of ancestral spirits, a Qu'ran reading by a Muslim woman, an amputee singer, a gay minister in academic robes, children, dancing, singing and uninhibited emotion. What a beautiful display of who we really are. That is the Canada I am proud to be part of."

Hear hear!   And, in my head the words of the funeral's final song are still echoing:

"Come on people now, smile on each other, everybody get together, try to love one another, right now."