A lovely little secret

No hero post today, but I will do the necessary catching up on that soon enough. No today is about a lovely, delicious, secret that I have been carrying around for about 8 hours now. Have you ever known something that no other (living) person knew? Sure you have, we all have, and is it not just a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing it? Of course, my secret is not really that juicy, and no one has even asked me to reveal it. In fact, probably no one knows that I have the secret at all except me, but I am putting the cart before the horse as they say. The fellow on the right above is one John Castle. In the photo Mr. Castle is playing the part of Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany in the 1968 film "The Lion in Winter." Truth be told, Mr. Castle's role was not the juicy one, and he was probably one of the least famous actors in the film. He plays the (always troublesome) middle son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The unloved son as it turns out. Henry's favourite is John the youngest (and the other fellow in the photo above), Eleanor's favourite is Richard (the Lion-Hearted) played by a young Anthony Hopkins. All this playing and picking favourites leaves poor Geoffrey out in the cold. One of the best lines in the movie is when Geoffrey asks Henry "you don't think much of me do you?", and Henry replies "Much? I don't think of you at all." Brutal parenting, but it shows you how Geoffrey is rated by his parents. As far as the movie "reality" that is a shame, because Geoffrey is quite an interesting fellow, and being a namesake of his (of sorts), I quite like the character. I know we have gotten off track of what the secret is that I am holding in my head, but the detour was necessary in order for it all to make sense (or at least I hope it makes sense). As you know, dear reader(s), my father shuffled off this mortal coil a couple of days ago, and today was the day that we got to stick him into the cold, hard ground. You may have also guessed that him and I did not really rate each other. Different views about too many different things, and as I sat there today listening to the priest drone on about all that stuff we all hear at funerals I was trying to think of the last words I would say to my father if I had the chance. "Via con dios" was an option, but neither he nor I were/are religious which also ruled out "Burn in Hell." I usually am pretty good at turning a phrase, and I became determined to find something to lean down and whisper into my (now dead) father's ear. Something to send him on his way with all the feelings that I had for him. This is where the movie above comes into place. Our boy Geoffrey is arguing with his mother about who will or will not become king, and the argument takes a few twists and turns, but at the end in response to his mother asking "you will help us won't you?" Geoffrey kisses her hand, and utters one word "Rot." That was the same thing I leaned down and whispered into my dead father's ear as a last goodbye. At least I know that he will be able to fulfill my last request, and now you all know my dirty little secret. I know I am a bastard, but at least I get it honestly.