RIP Gerald R. Ford
Jan. 2nd, 2007 12:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
semperfionaI was running later than usual for work today, and I heard the first
half-hour or so of President Ford's funeral on the radio. What I can't
explain logically is why it had me crying.
I don't really remember his presidency. I can remember--almost--the 1976
election, and I remember some of the bicentennial pomp of that year (but
not the actual Independence Day celebrations--I was at summer camp. I
had a big grudge about that for a long time: the fact that my sister got
a Bicentennial pen at the Fourth of July parade and I didn't.) I
remember, also, that November 1976 was the year my family moved into the
house my parents still own, and that we went to visit my Ozark cousins
for Thanksgiving that year, only to come back to a driveway filled 12-18
inches deep with snow.
But presidential politics? Pretty foreign to my 6 to 8 year old self. I
have said before that Nixon's resignation is one of my earliest
memories, but again, it's from a child's perspective. We didn't have a
television in our house, and the whole family went to a neighbor's place
to watch the event. The TV-watching is what's made it stand out in my
memory, not the issue itself.
So what filled my eyes with tears? Was it the emotional music? The
emotional texture of the whole event? Sympathy for Betty (whom I had
thought dead herself...I won't be surprised if she doesn't outlive him
by much)?
half-hour or so of President Ford's funeral on the radio. What I can't
explain logically is why it had me crying.
I don't really remember his presidency. I can remember--almost--the 1976
election, and I remember some of the bicentennial pomp of that year (but
not the actual Independence Day celebrations--I was at summer camp. I
had a big grudge about that for a long time: the fact that my sister got
a Bicentennial pen at the Fourth of July parade and I didn't.) I
remember, also, that November 1976 was the year my family moved into the
house my parents still own, and that we went to visit my Ozark cousins
for Thanksgiving that year, only to come back to a driveway filled 12-18
inches deep with snow.
But presidential politics? Pretty foreign to my 6 to 8 year old self. I
have said before that Nixon's resignation is one of my earliest
memories, but again, it's from a child's perspective. We didn't have a
television in our house, and the whole family went to a neighbor's place
to watch the event. The TV-watching is what's made it stand out in my
memory, not the issue itself.
So what filled my eyes with tears? Was it the emotional music? The
emotional texture of the whole event? Sympathy for Betty (whom I had
thought dead herself...I won't be surprised if she doesn't outlive him
by much)?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 07:12 pm (UTC)Oh Saturday Night live had a ball with him - he was a very funny president to make fun of - he was clumsy and fell down a lot! But I don't remember my folks being upset by anything he 'did' in office and I was a teenager - not really concerned with such. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 07:48 pm (UTC)It's patriotism.
Date: 2007-01-03 01:14 am (UTC)That's why.
And one whose entire career consisted of stepping up.
Re: It's patriotism.
Date: 2007-01-03 03:33 pm (UTC)