Tears kept running down my cheeks this morning, tears for a President. I was waiting at a car dealer while my car was being serviced, reading our local Pensacola News Journal and USA Today, not exactly where I wanted to be seen weeping. I am deeply moved by George Herbert Walker Bush’s death. At ninety-four, I suspect he was ready to go, to join his wife, Barbara, and little daughter, Robin. Were my tears for being reminded of the death of my own child, Robert Lee Logan, who died so many years ago on only his second day? Were they for understanding the loss he and Barbara shared, struggling through their grief together? I had read many articles detailing how many marriages fail after the death of a child, one spouse unable to cope while the other does…eventually. Was it because my husband, too, is a US Navy pilot who flew in the war – Vietnam? Or was it simple grief for an honorable man who lived a life of service in the military, civilian life, and government?
I think it’s a bit of all those feelings. I didn’t know President Bush personally, but was present at the National Museum of Naval Aviation here in Pensacola, Florida, several years ago when a big, marvelous portrait of him was unveiled and dedicated. His words then were humble, thoughtful, and I felt like I could cozy up with him in a room and have a chat about our shared experiences, though a generation apart.
To me, he was a leader because he sought out the best, most capable people to help run the government. He did not feel threatened by competence, but nurtured and embraced it. The loyalty to him that I’ve heard expressed over the past few days by those who worked most closely with him has been extraordinary. Small stories of his kindness, respect, humility, sense of responsibility, integrity, honor.
He was a good and decent man, both in public and in private. I’m proud to have shed tears for this President.
by Kathleen Vestal Logan, MS, MA December 3, 2018