It must be my age or something, but I had a huge, very real, very strong bout of nostalgia around 1 am. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I did my usual--I started flipping through tv channels. I found a show called "Saving Ronald Reagan". It was about the day he was shot and the doctors who worked to save him over the hours that followed. I didn't know that they didn't realize right away that he'd been shot-they thought maybe he had broken ribs from being shoved into the Presidential limo by the Secret Service. Even though I knew the ultimate outcome, I couldn't stop watching until it was over. As they wheeled him out of the trauma room toward the operating room, Nancy came over to see him and he said "honey, I forgot to duck". In the O.R. just before the doctors put him under, he lifted his head and said "I hope you all are Republicans". Upon waking after the surgery, breathing tubes prevented him from talking so he was given paper and something to write with. He wrote "am I alive?"
He had a positive outlook, a quiet strength, and a real presence. And he absolutely, without question, loved this country. He is not the first actor to get into politics but is the first to be better at politics than acting. He once asked reporters "how can a President not be an actor?" He had a point there!
When asked what he intended to do about the cold war, he said "win". He sure had a way with words. He also had a way with people. I can still hear him say "well..."
I wasn't alive when the Berlin Wall was put up, but I sure remember the day I heard President Reagan say "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" and watched through tears as that very thing happened.
Maybe it's because I was a teenager through the 80s, but I think it's more than that. I just loved President Reagan. I'm glad I couldn't sleep last night...
4 comments:
He is, by far...the best President this country has ever had...
Thanks for sharing!
I, too, loved President Reagan. He was a charismatic man who was a wonderful leader, yet he had a humbleness that made him seem like a very approachable and down-to-earth person.
I remember watching the all-day coverage of his memorial services and crying like a baby. I was impressed with his eldest son, Michael, who spoke eloquently at the services in California about what a great father he was. It was very moving. Here's the link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-06-12-children-eulogies_x.htm
Also, the love he had for his beloved Nancy is something you rarely see between a couple these days.
We could sure use guidance like his over the next four years.
P.S. - I've recently read The Reagan Diaries and Dutch and highly recommend them if you haven't read them yet.
I was lucky enough to be able to see him lying in state at the Capitol. It was humbling to be part of the crowd of mourners who watched his casket ascend Capitol Hill. It was very sobering to think of the strength one individual can provide an entire country.
I ♥ your blog :)
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