Weekly Mail December 10, 2018

Good Evening:

I was dreading this past Saturday. I knew it as going to be hard.

But once again, I was reminded of the blessings we have in our lives. Even in the worst of times.

For the family and friends we got to see on Saturday, for all those who wrote or texted or sent a like to what I wrote the other day, I can tell you that all of you made a very hard day a bit easier.

Once again. From the bottom of my heart, and my family's heart.


Thank you.


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OBITUARY

George HW Bush 1924-2018


The first time I got to vote for President was in 1992, the year we had the George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ross Perot trifecta to chose from. And I remember that I couldn't wait to get to PS 229 that November evening to vote our 41st President out of office.

The man who said he wanted to build a kinder, gentler nation hadn't always been neither kind nor gentle. During the campaign, he had yelled "Sit down and shut up" to a group of POW families. The 1988 campaign was still fresh in my mind, and that had been considered a mud bath. The economy was still sputtering, and there was just a feeling that Bush was a man whose time had come and gone. I felt it was time to have a President who was my father's age, not my grandfather's age.


I don't regret how I voted.


And yet....


1992 was almost 27 years ago. It's impossible to see the world as a 45 year old when you are 19. There are things about George HW Bush I couldn't appreciate at that age.  The thought that people were calling this man a "wimp" when he flew combat missions in World War II, that he ever joined the war effort at 18, when he had the opportunity to go to college should have dispelled that wimp persona once and for all.

And you just have to look back at the disaster that was the 2016 campaign for more proof. I remember how they said the 1992 campaign was dirty, that was a Sunday brunch compared to what went down two years ago. The incident with the POW families, while not good, was one bad day on the campaign trail. Donald Trump made that a daily occurrence.

And when all is said and done, if you truly want to know the measure of the man, look at the friendships he developed after he left office. One of the things I wished would have happened during Bush 41's five day wake and funeral, was a eulogy from President Clinton. I realize that when you have a son who was also a former President, he probably should be the one to deliver the main
eulogy.   But everything I have ever read about the almost father/son relationship that had developed between the former rivals was not only very touching, but also should serve as a lesson in these hard cutthroat times.

When you are 15 years old, and one man has been President for literally half your life, it stands to reason that you might want a change. So naturally I was disappointed when Bush was elected in 1988, but again, if ever a person had the resume to be President, it was him.

And I can tell you when I most respected him as a leader, and it wasn't the Persian Gulf war, or even the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was in August of 1991, during the coup in the last days of the Soviet Union.

We had no idea who or what had their hands on the Soviets nukes, nobody was really sure where Mikhail Gorbachev was, it was about as scary a time I can remember, and I really can't believe more folks didn't discuss this during this past week.  But Bush, who was on vacation in Kenebunkport at the time, came on TV and said "Look, the majority of coups fail." He was a cool as a cucumber and basically said "I got this." Sure enough, the coup did fail and Boris Yeltsin took over.  To me that was Bush 41's finest hour.

One last story.... The first time the Town Hall Format for debates was used, it was that famous 1992 election. ABC's Carole Simpson was the moderator, and many conservatives felt she was unfair to Bush. At one point a person in the audience asked about the high illiteracy rate in the country, and Simpson said "Why don't we ask the education President about it." It was probably a cheap shot.  And Simpson said she caught grief for it..... but not from the President.

No from President George HW Bush, Carole Simpson received a handwritten note, thanking her for doing a great job moderating the debate.

I'm glad he got the sendoff that he did. I'm glad he'll be remembered fondly, even by those who didn't agree with him. I think in the end he might not have always been kind and gentle, but as politicians go, and compared to what we have now, I think he was.



BASEBALL: Mets trade

Very mixed about this deal.

The past few times the Mets have traded for all-star second basemen, they turned out to be Flushing flops. Carlos Baerga and Roberto Alomar come to mind. Robinson Cano is 36 years old and coming off a 'roid suspension. Not to mention he's got over $100 million left on his contract. That just looks like a recipe for disaster.

And this relief pitcher they got looks almost too good to be true. Edwin Diaz is 25 years old, and he saved 57 games last year. Even I, who considers the save to be an overrated stat, is impressed by that. Can he handle the white hot spotlight that is New York? Time will tell.

Still I have to give Met GM Brodie Van Wagenen credit. He wanted to make a splash and he did. Maybe one of the prospects he gave up will turn into an All-Star but I venture to guess that they won't. Jay Bruce seemed like a good guy but was a bit too inconsistent for my liking, and Anthony Swarzak didn't break my heart by leaving.  This is one we are just going to have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that Cano has a couple of good years left. And that Diaz proves to be good in the clutch.



LAW AND ORDER: Illegal snowballs

The town of Severance Colorado has some weird laws.

Only dogs and cats are considered pets in Severance, so I guess that goldfish you won at the state fair has to go down the toilet.

And until last week, snowball fights were illegal in Severance. A 9 year old kid saw to it that at least that law was overturned.

Dane Best and the rest of his class began writing letters to the town legislature looking to have the ban reversed.

He was invited to present his case to the board last Monday night and the ban was unanimously lifted.

According to Kyle Rietkerk, the assistant town supervisor, the ban was put into place as part of a larger overall ban of "stones and missiles" being thrown. Snowballs were considered missiles. Go figure. I would have asked Mr. Rietkerk if a snowball was considered a missile, what was the town's thoughts on semi-automatic rifles. But I guess that is for another day.

For now, we raise a glass to young Dane Best. He fought the system and won. Good for him. Good for America.


Sorry this got out late. Our fall finale is next week, followed by our Christmas Eve Special.

Have a Great Week