"A Bright Young President, Full of Hope and Laughter"

Peggy Noonan wrote a piece in the WSJ after the death of Senator Kennedy that resonated with me, as her writing often does. It might have been a bit egotistical of her to print the text of a speech she wrote for Ronald Reagan that he gave at a fundraiser for the JFK Presidential library, yet it was so poignant that she earned the right. Below is a passage from what Reagan said about JFK in the speech.

"I have been told that late at night when the clouds are still and the moon is high, you can just about hear the sound of certain memories brushing by. You can almost hear, if you listen close, the whir of a wheelchair rolling by and the sound of a voice calling out, 'And another thing, Eleanor.' Turn down a hall and you hear the brisk strut of a fellow saying, 'Bully! Absolutely ripping!' Walk softly now and you're drawn to the soft notes of a piano and a brilliant gathering in the East Room, where a crowd surrounds a bright young president who is full of hope and laughter.

"I don't know if this is true, but it's a story I've been told, and it's not a bad one because it reminds us that history is a living thing that never dies. . . . History is not only made by people, it is people. And so history is, as young John Kennedy demonstrated, as heroic as you want it to be, as heroic as you are."

Teddy and the Reagans were close friends, says Noonan. And the letter that Teddy sent Ronnie summed up his gratitude and his feeling about his political rival. "The next morning he poured out his gratitude in a handwritten letter. "I only wish Jack could have been there too last night," he wrote. "Your presence was such a magnificent tribute to my brother. . . . The country is well served by your eloquent graceful leadership Mr. President." He signed it, "With my prayers and thanks for you as you lead us through these difficult times."

Our New Home Makes Us Yearn for the Old One

There is a commercial for Target Stores that's running on TV lately which captures the zeitgeist of today's tough times with an appealing zeal. The catchy tune with the words "this is a brand new day," contrasts the old and the new in our time. "The new bakery" turns out to be mom's oven; the new nightclub is revealed as a couple's wild gyrations holding a Wii controller; the new tropical vacation is a do-it-yourself tan. What I love is the way this ad accepts what's happening, and embraces the positive.

I approach life like that--refusing to knuckle under to despair and doubt, but taking what we have and making it work. This ad always brightens my day because it espouses my sensibilities. As Don says, "I'm not participating in this recession."

Every week I read Peggy Noonan's column in the WSJ, and almost always, it is spot on and full of clarity and wisdom. She wrote a pretty depressing column this week that tried to pin a label on the uncertainty and scariness of today's recessionary feeling. I read it to Cindy, it was so telling and seemed to really have a handle on how it feels in 2009. She compares this to America moving from the old into the new homes--the old being prosperity, high stock values and wealth, and the new, well that's where we live now.

Noonan cites figures that show people are scared, they are buying a lot more guns, and now it's hard to find gold Eagle coins, production has been suspended due to unprecedented demand for gold bullion. People are looking for things on the web, like places they can move, houses in small towns, looking for the olden days. The more practical advice comes not from Noonan but from the people who say we ought to plant more gardens, and try to grow more of our own food.

My old pal Bill Hewitt has been at that for some time...and I bet that there will be more gardens planted this year full of vegetables than ever before.