Archives For General Interest

An Open Letter to President Abraham Lincoln

October 11, 2013

Dear Mr. President:

Since I’ve always considered you the wisest among all American presidents, I respectfully seek your counsel on several troubling matters.

The United States is in the throes of a bitter ideological feud between those who lean toward a more progressive, socialist left and those of a more traditional, conservative right. It involves many things, to include the charge and size of government, the U.S. role as the most powerful nation in an increasingly unstable world, and the likely destructive consequences of years of gross fiscal irresponsibility. Too, we have deep divides on matters of religion, marriage, and the termination of unwanted pregnancies in what is termed, appropriately enough, abortion (or, as some would prefer, the right to choose, not unlike being of age and deciding upon whiskey or beer, except, of course, the difference in consequences).

Mr. Lincoln, since your time the United States has won two world wars, cured polio, given women the vote, enacted legislation to ensure equal rights to all citizens, and sent men to the moon and back (really, we did, and more than once!). We built the most powerful economy in world history, and in the process assimilated countless millions of immigrants from all parts of the globe. Those immigrants came here in the belief that ambitious, hardworking individuals can move from poverty to relative prosperity based upon effort, not birthright. And by the way, we have twice elected a U.S. president of African descent.

But we’re far from perfection. We can quite literally transplant hearts and other vital organs, but we don’t do as well transplanting values. Our prisons are crowded, our young are too often poorly educated, and there is still racial prejudice, just as in your day, though more subtle. We bend over backwards in a near-comical attempt to avoid “offending” anyone, and in the process offend or inconvenience nearly everyone. Our citizens are increasingly suspicious of and alarmed by a federal government in which powerful components have been used to gather highly personal information and to sometimes intimidate or penalize innocent people for purely political reasons.

We seem to be at a crossroads, sir. Thankfully we’re not at war with one another as we were in your day, but we do have counties in some states who feel so ideologically and culturally detached that their citizens now speak of secession. I know you remember (and detest) that word. Our elected representatives seem more concerned about being re-elected than in solving the real problems that threaten our well-being as a nation. There is a certain smallness about Congress, and I’m sure you would recognize much of the pettiness and posturing, even the vitriol. There is also a smallness to the president, who seems aloof and detached from the actual governing and leadership aspects of his role. Like you, he won the job with great skill, but unlike you, he governs with virtually none of it.

Throughout the days of your presidency, would you have avoided engaging members of the opposing party as if they were poisonous reptiles, even if you thought dealing with snakes would be an upgrade? Would you have been able to raise an army and the revenue necessary to fight it without some level of bi-partisan support?  To ensure the abolition of slavery in all of the U.S., didn’t you push for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment which Congress passed by the necessary two-thirds vote in 1865?

Mr. Lincoln, is it conceivable that any sort of budgetary crisis would have ever convinced you to close Gettysburg National Cemetery and turn away veterans and family members from paying their respects?

We need your help here, President Lincoln. What should we do? Change the people? Change the terms under which they serve? It’s not getting better; the divides are becoming deeper.

Is there anyone out there like you who could step in and provide some desperately needed leadership? Can you recommend a person–any person–who could step forward and fill the void? If so, will you send me a text? Oops, sorry, make that a telegram.

And please, sir, hurry.

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My Uncle Jack, RIP

April 4, 2013

Jack Hughes, a beloved uncle and the eldest of my mother’s three younger brothers, died Easter weekend of natural causes. He was 86 years old.

I’ll remember Jack as one of the most decent, honest, and loyal human beings I’ve ever encountered. While he wasn’t wealthy in a material sense, he was rich beyond measure in the love and admiration he received from his friends and family members. Family was important to Jack, and because I was his first nephew in what would become a long line of nieces and nephews, I was therefore important to him. He made my younger brother and I feel that importance from an early age onward, and I always loved him for it.

When I was a young boy and confronted with the death or serious illness of a family member, Jack would always be there, his caring and inner strength a much needed boost, in effect wrapping me in a blanket of comfort and well-being before such an event could overwhelm me. As I got older, Jack would still be there when those same conditions arose, still providing that calming, reassuring presence with such ease and dependability. When bad things happened, I looked for Jack. And, inevitably, I would always find him. I loved him for that, too.

Jack enjoyed a laugh, and after he married Barbara, he laughed a lot. Both he and Barbara had previously experienced the painful loss of a spouse, so they were ready to laugh, needed to laugh. We have an exceptionally strong tradition of storytelling in our family, and we found that Barbara could turn a tale to match any of us. Barbara was good for Jack, and good for our family. As for Jack, he didn’t have the sort of fragile ego that kept him from laughing at himself. He could needle and be needled, giveth and receiveth, and always in fun. A room was a brighter, better place with Jack in it.

When it came time to answer the dinner bell, Jack had no shame in being the first through the food line. In fact, if Jack wasn’t the first to spoon his way through the home-cooked Southern goodness spread out before him, who knew what might’ve transpired? Not to worry, though. It never happened.

Jack and I talked often of Chicago, a city he called home for a time in the Fifties, and a place I have visited often. In my childhood he sent me a baseball that had been fouled into the Wrigley Field stands by Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn of the Phillies. I still have that old baseball in my closet, safely ensconced in the pocket of my equally old glove. It’s not Richie Ashburn whom I think of when I see that ball. No, I think of Jack. Always Jack.

Any person would be truly blessed to have such an uncle as Jack Hughes. I was so blessed, and I’ll be eternally grateful for Jack’s presence and influence in my life. In fact, I was blessed with three such uncles, two of whom remain as friends and lifelong role models. Just like Jack.

Thank you, Uncle Jack, for the great example you provided for me. For all you gave me. For all you taught me. For all the times I looked for you and found you when you could have been elsewhere. You were greatly loved. And you will be greatly missed.

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I Still Miss John Wayne

June 15, 2012

The Duke, John Wayne, died 33 years ago this week. I miss him, still. And I still enjoy his movies, especially those World War II films where he and the good guys would always win. He was greatly popular with U.S. Marines, and there were at least two C-ration items named in his honor: the John Wayne can opener and the John Wayne cookie. Why? Beats me. We Marines didn’t question.

I read a biography about Duke several years ago and discovered the interesting tidbit that he really didn’t like horses. For an actor who arguably did more to popularize the Western film genre than anyone else, not liking horses came as a bit of a surprise. I suppose it would be akin to discovering Mario Andretti’s dislike of fast cars or Bruce Springsteen’s dislike of loud music. Or Bill Clinton’s dislike of a gorgeous, um, bacon cheeseburger. It just didn’t seem to fit.

John Wayne came along at the right time. He was an unabashed American patriot at a time when patriotism was widely understood in simpler terms than is apparent today. He smoked cigarettes, drank whiskey, and killed the bad guys in his films. He was gentle toward women (except Maureen O’Hara, with whom he had an extraordinary on-screen chemistry and off-screen friendship). Occasionally he would die a hero’s noble death at the end of a picture, which was never pleasant. And he would almost always provide a worthwhile life lesson somewhere between the opening and closing credits.

His friends in the entertainment industry spoke often of his loyalty and generosity as a friend. As big an international star as he became over a long career, he could poke as much fun at himself as he could others. Comedian Rich Little did a splendid impersonation of Wayne, from his voice to his gestures to his walk, and I can remember Duke roaring with laughter as he sat with Johnny Carson and watched Little’s hilarious routine. And the laughter was authentic, as was much else with Wayne.

That was then.

Now we’ve got the pretty-boy actors who spend a disproportionate amount of time doing little more in their films than eating. And their causes are rarely conservative anymore. Or often hardly even patriotic. Was John Wayne the greatest film actor ever? Nah, I won’t go that far. But he was darned good, and his screen presence was always infinitely more commanding than these contemporary lightweights.

Thanks, Duke, for all the great work you’ve left for us to enjoy.

Semper Fi, good sir.

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