A Special Memory Of A Great Man – George H.W. Bush

This blog is off the supper club  topic, but in light of the passing of George H.W. Bush, I wanted to pass on a special memory of him that Susan and I have.

We met George H.W. Bush 20 years ago at his presidential library in College Station Texas on the campus of Texas A&M University. We were in Houston visiting our friends Jerry and Tricia MacDonald. It was a cold snowy/rainy day and instead of playing golf as planned, we decided to visit the George H.W. Bush library.

I remember that day clearly. I knew that Bush was from Greenwich CT where my wife Susan went to school, lived and taught and Barbara was from Rye NY. Our friends Tom and Mary Julian, lived across Onondaga Street from the house that Barbara grew up in.

Presidential libraries are all great. History comes to life. On the day we were at the library there weren’t a lot people there because of the weather. The tour was great. I loved his emphasis that while from Greenwich he was really a Texan. At the end of the tour we were in the back of the library watching a tv with funny video clips of   Bush. We were watching one where a post President George  was playing golf, complaining that putts that friends used to give him when he was President, they now made him putt (with his long putter)

Just as we were watching on tv the real George Bush appeared in person. He walked up to Susan and said: “watch this, it is really funny”. He just happened to be there that day to throw out the first pitch for a Texas A&M baseball game that had been canceled. George Bush had a sense of humor. He could laugh at himself. The way he did it, was a testimony to the self confidence of a great man.

Video clip of George Bush and Dana Carvey

I had been a fan of “41” for years. As a history major in college, I always have felt that he was the best trained president in history. (War hero, Yale graduate, Senator, Ambassador, CIA Director, Vice President). Past that, he was such a good person. In the presence of his greatness, I could have asked a lot of questions. We had common history having grown up in neighboring towns. I could of asked a historical question.

But no: I asked him if he gave lessons on how to use the long putter in golf like he was doing in the funny video we were watching? He looked at me like I was from another planet. Then, he and his secret service contingent whisked away.

A stupid question, but a great man and a special memory.

George and Barbara Bush with Amy Grant, Jerry MacDonald and Michael W. Smith at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on December 5 2015. Jerry (in black) runs the Pavilion and was with us when we met President Bush at his library.

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