June 10, 2004
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I rememeber when Reagan was in the White House. I was in uniform back then and it certainy seemed like the rest of the world was respecting the U.S. alot more. The eighties were certainly interesting . Invasion of Grenada, Beirut and the bombing of the Marine Barracks,taking down Noriega in Panama. It was a time when the cold war was coming to an end and the wall finally did come down. Words like "the great communicator" and "Reagonomics" were common. I do miss those days and seeing the procession yesterday really hit home. I felt like I was seeing the eighties, and all that we as a nation went through, go by. He was a great friend to those in uniform and he was never afraid to flex his military might under his command. Yet he was always one who, as percieved by me, to be extremely fair and always helpful to those in need.
Oh I am sure that there are alot of things that were done while in office that weren't right (alot would start with the Iran-Contra affair). But for now, for this week, I am going to reflect on those days and those times and how the world was. How we as a nation managed to turn some things around. As for Ronald Reagan, there is no doubt that he was the one president who brought back "style", panache, spirit and to some degree "royalty" much like the Kennedy's did. He wasn't just some suit there doing the political thing. He did that but you also knew that he had alot more to him than just being the president. He liked horseback riding the great outdoors (just like Teddy Roosevelt). He enjoyed working on his ranch and was never one to hold back his thoughts on things even if they weren't popular or right. I'll miss him and I hope that some day we have someone like this again in the White House. Semper Fi, Mr. President.
