Where the Heck Have I Been?
filed on Friday, June 11, 2004 at 12:47:12 AM CST

Well, to make a long story short, I've having an interesting time of life.  Back in the beginning of March, my granddad (on my biological father's side of the family) passed away, and I got a quick reintroduction to a side of the family that, for the most part, I hadn't seen in about twelve years.  I've reconnected some with my younger brother and sister (though I still need to spend a lot more time with them), caught up with my cousins, and even gotten back in touch with my dad.  I'll discuss this all more in a later update though.

On top of that, I'm working a ton, getting prepared for the arrival of our new Marketing Manager, while trying to stay prepared myself, and get back to work on the website there -- a little less focus on graphic design work.

And a lot more's been going on as well.  Still, as you can see, I'm doing some work to update this site, and in the days to come, there'll be new articles, a new comments section that allows you to enter your comments without need to login, and stuff like that.

So bear with me, and stop on back soon.  There'll be plenty to read!

A Final Gathering
filed on Friday, June 11, 2004 at 1:12:42 PM CST

"Well..."  It's funny the things you remember about a person.  The thing I remember most about former President Ronald Regan was the way he said the word "well."  Perhaps it's because of the pause he typically put after it.  Or perhaps it's the way comedians of the era used to joke about it.  I remember a sketch by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, and that word is what I remember the most from it as well.

Of course, this is not all I remember about President Ronald Regan.  I remember his warm smile.  His term ended when I was a Sophomore in High School, so while I've read about his politics in school, I remember more about his addresses, seeing him on television, remembering when he came to my city and spoke at the High School.  Mostly, I remember his smile.  He was such a warm, friendly president.  You knew, just by looking at him, that this was a man who cared about our country.  Rumors abound, of course, that he was already starting to suffer from Alzheimer's while in office, but honestly, that doesn't really matter.  He was definitely one of the great Presidents of our country.

I'm sure that his administration wasn't perfect.  I'd be surprised to learn any President, save perhaps George Washington, had a perfect administration, and I'm doubting even good old Washington's was perfect.  The measure then of a good President should not only be what he did, and how he did it, but also how the American public viewed him.  How well he worked with people.  How many lives he touched.

I was supposed to have been at work this morning.  Instead, I sat at home and watched a good amount of his funeral.  I was markedly impressed by the number of people I saw in the cathedral.  Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, along with the First Ladies.  Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, as well as Prince Charles.  Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney.  Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Conner.  Other dignitaries I couldn't name if you paid me to.  And of course, Nancy and their children.

I don't think a President could receive a warmer or more appropriate send-off.  Hearing the first President Bush tell of asking him how a meeting with Bishop Tutu had gone.  "So so," President Regan answered.  Or of hearing the current President Bush tell of a fellow actor asking Ronald Regan if he had ever considered being President.  "President of what?" Regan asked.  "President of the United States."  "What's the matter?" Regan asked, "Don't you like my acting either?"  The tale of his surgery after being shot in an attempted assassination, looking up at the doctors and saying, "I hope you're all republicans."  The telling of a letter written by a young child asking for federal aid in cleaning his room, and President Regan writing back that the child's mother was probably correct in calling it a disaster, and wished him luck in the creation of a new federal volunteer program.  It was so good to see his humor and joy remembered in among the sorrow.  Watching Nancy and the children (who aren't so much kids anymore) smile and laugh was so touching.  George Bush even mentioned that since he was 80 years old, he could still call them the Regan kids which drew more laughter.

I think the moment that touched me most was the playback of the message that Margaret Thatcher recorded.  She had promised to speak at his funeral, but her health is poor, so she taped a message instead.  In it she spoke very highly of him, and said that she had lost a friend.  The message... yes, it was recorded.  But she was still there in the congregation.  Against medical advice, she came to be at his funeral.  That, more than anything, shows the measure of how great a man President Regan was.

I admit, the service brought tears to my eyes on more than one occassion.  Yes, I even cried during the beautiful (though horribly broadcast) singing of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  I got up, eventually, and walked into the bathroom, looked in the mirror at my reddened eyes, and thought to myself, How silly is it that I'm mourning the loss of a President, a man I never knew?  And then I thought to myself that it isn't silly at all.

I did know him.  Not as intimately as the people gathered there to mourn him, but he was President of this country.  I remember watching his State of the Union addresses.  I remember curiously listening to him as he spoke on television.  I remember him consoling the nation after the Challenger accident.  I remember a great deal about him.  And I agree with those gathered who say we have lost a great man who did great things.

Farewell, President Regan.