Gee, I am sorry I missed that. The first 2 pics to go up in my last two houses were my mom, and Ronald bygod Reagan.
I met him once in Flint, Michigan, and drove my old Lincoln Town Carin his motorcade as a volunteer. It was one of the coolest things I ever did. It was in 1976 when he ran unsuccessfully the first time for the Republican nomination. I was a young volunteer and had just had my '71 repainted. They were short a car for staff and press, so I got picked and drove a bunch of staffers about 5 cars back from the front.
Then we attended his press conference. Union-controlled Flint was loaded for bear, and ready to rip his guts out. Future-president Reagan then gave one of the most amazing personal performances that i have ever seen. His unique combination of folksy charm and edgy, unapologetic conservatism actually won the room over. While the socialists certainly weren't converted, you could feel the mood change in the room, and the tone of the questions grew more civil. You just could not dislike or disrespect this man in person. It was also my first exposure to his trademark, "Wellll..." at the beginning of a difficult answer.
Afterward, we volunteers were lined up in the hallway, and he shook each of our hands and said "thank you". Unlike a lot of celebrities, he said it with feeling. I was already a Reaganite but that was my laying-on of hands. It was a day I'll never forget. In the long run, I think Mr. Reagan served us a lot better than those unions served poor Flint, formerly known as Buicktown.
The next year I joined the Army and served in Jimmy Carter's army (this country has made deplorable presidential decisions before). The military was at a low ebb, in the post-Vietnam era with a fairly hostile administration. I was in Germany when the hostages were taken in Iran. We all thought we were going- how could the US do nothing? I knew things would have been different if Reagan had been president. The Iranians knew it, too. If I had known he would be elected, I would probably have stayed in. Instead I served my 3 years and came back to the "world". Needless to say, we had 8 great and very different years after he was sworn in, and the US military completely turned itself around.
Yes, we miss you more than ever, Mr. Reagan.
