“Life Is Just One Grand Sweet Song, So Start The Music!”
By Debbie Daniel (06/10/04)
In 1928, at Dixon’s Northside High School in Dixon, Illinois, that was the motto of the student body president, “Dutch” Ronald Reagan, as it appeared next to his picture in his senior yearbook. He was ready to take on the world!
And the music never stopped for Ronald Reagan. He seemed to write his own songs, but did we truly understand their message?
As many of us, who loved “The Gipper,” watched and heard all the stories told about this “bigger than life” character over the weekend of the 60th D-Day Anniversary, I found myself out on the tree swing trying to sort out the non-stop clips of the death of a great American President, and the moving and powerful pictures of enemy bombardment taking soldiers’ lives by the thousands in Normandy on June 6, 1944.
So the finale of a “long good-bye,” and the remembrance of the “longest day” were both fed to television viewers so fast and furiously, that I had to stop and catch my breath.
I had only taken a break from my Saturday afternoon chores to get myself prepared for the big Triple Crown contender, Smarty Jones, the Pennsylvania-bred race horse who was the favorite in last weekend’s Belmont stakes. I don’t usually watch horse races, but the build-up to this one sounded exciting, so I didn’t want to miss it.
As I sat with anticipation for the race to begin, I caught some of the preparation leading up to Sunday’s D-Day ceremonies, and then was caught off-guard by a news alert, “Ronald Reagan is Dead."
So my horserace mentality was instantly gone. Hours later I couldn’t even remember the horse’s name.
All the old clips of Ronald Reagan showing an undying devotion and affection for his wife, Nancy; and the voluminous speeches declaring his deep and abiding love for America . . . absolutely held me in reverent silence for hours. But . . . I was a willing captive.
On Sunday I was mesmerized by the dramatic presentation of a college theater troupe emoting their horror as they watched film clips – as part of the script and staging – of that infamous day when we lost so many soldiers at the hands of Hitler’s army.
And then the network quickly switched to an account of the former Prime Minister of England, Margaret Thatcher, who has had a “black dress” packed and always ready for her travels; so as to be prepared when her beloved dear friend, Ronald Reagan, passed away. She’s been doing this for 10 years, and at first report, because of her own ailing health, she would not be able to attend the funeral. But now we’ve learned that she recorded a 10 minute eulogy and will be in attendance (the first time a non-American has been invited to deliver a eulogy at the funeral of a U.S. President).
Now all that leaves you numb for a few minutes, and then you walk out into the sunshine of a breezy day, and find yourself in the stupor of a quiet moment trying to place your own emotions.
I again found my way to the tree swing and sat down very slowly. My heart was so heavy with a double dose of grief; I didn’t know how to respond.
And to think . . . I only wanted to watch a horse race.
This whole weekend was “emotionally heavy,” but the common message that kept weaving itself in and out of both major stories, was the love that our World War II soldiers and President Reagan had for their country.
It has been said the Presidency destroys its occupants. But when Reagan came to the office, he looked around and said, “This is fun.” Let’s saddle up and go for a ride” . . . and he did.
He loved America and America loved him.
He taught us that it was God that blessed America, not government; our rights were God-given, not government-given.
He had such a confidence, not ego; he believed in what he said, and that’s why he could say it with conviction.
He had a “Will Rogers” sense of humor with one-liners that would make even his worst enemy fall into side splitting laughter.
Many people thought his rhetoric in calling Russia, “The Evil Empire,” was too shrill and might make them angry. The gossip persisted: “Only a naïve rube would tell Gorbachev to tear down that wall,” . . . He shouldn’t be a war mongering saber-rattler.”
But we all know that wall didn’t fall over on its own, did it?
He was called: a buffoon; a dunce; a moron leading us into the next depression, and a cowboy from California who would start World War III. Wow! Where have I heard this before?
If it’s a pre-requisite for “GREATNESS,” we should be so lucky to have such a President.
I had heard these stories of how savagely Reagan was attacked by his opponents, and now how deeply admired he has become. What a transformation!
I read one man’s account: “I hated him when he was President. Now I’m a 38 year old man who can’t stop crying. And that’s the truth.”
Of one thing I am sure . . . “gratitude takes time.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “The measure of a master is his success in bringing all men round to his opinion twenty years later.”
Ronald Reagan gave us many beautiful songs of life to sing. He was the consummate cheerleader and the tireless optimist for America.
He taught us to love our country and never forget to ask God to bless it. There was always a song in his heart, and when expressed through his own words . . . was “music” to our ears.
But the greatest song Ronald Reagan will ever sing is the one he now performs before His Lord in Heaven. As the author, Mary Beth Brown writes in the book, Hand of Providence, “Ronald Reagan walked with the Lord throughout his life, and he could see the hand of God working in it to fulfill His plan and purpose.
“Reagan says he never felt lonely while in office, as other Presidents admitted. He knew the Lord was his constant companion and his Heavenly Father was always right there with him to talk to whenever he needed Him. Reagan relied on God, developed a deep, intimate relationship with Him, and turned to Him for advice, counsel, and support.”
As he said when asked about his faith, “. . . having accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I have God’s promise of eternal life in heaven, as well as the abundant life here on earth that He promises to each of us in John 10:10.”
As told in Mrs. Brown’s book: “In consoling a family on the death of a loved one that worked in the President’s administration, Reagan said, ‘He has gone to another place – the better place we’ve all been promised.’ Nothing better exemplified Reagan’s strong, unshakable faith in the promise of Christ’s sacrifice. He saw death as a passage or a homecoming. He believed God would ‘call him home’ at the time He planned for him.”
And it is with God’s timing that we say farewell to an American original.
You’d be proud, Mr. President . . . we’re singing your songs; for it is in your death that we better understand the true message of your music, and we’ll never let “the grand sweet song” end.
Good-bye, God Bless You, and God Bless the United States of America.
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