My son came in last night and told my husband and me about President Ford passing away. I was totally unaware even though I had been on the Internet all evening doing this and that. He was 93, our oldest living president, and he had been ill for sometime. He passed away at his home in Rancho Mirage, California.yesterday.
Though I was born during the Kennedy administration, was a toddler during Johnson, and remember most of the end of Nixon’s presidency, President Ford was the president I most remember as a young person. In October I wrote this piece for him that appeared at here at History Is Elementary and at American Presidents.
He was a very interesting and honest man. We will be learning many more things about him over the coming days. One of the most interesting facts about our 38th president is he served as president and vice president but was never elected by the people.
President Bush’s official statement regarding Ford’s death can be seen here, and the Ford Presidental Library site can be found here.
Gerald Ford lived his last years only about 90 miles from where I live. Our local newspaper this morning carried an AP story about Gerald Ford's death,containing these two choice paragraphs:
ReplyDelete"Said a ranking Democratic congressman: 'Maybe [Ford] is a plodder, but right now, the advantages of having a plodder in the presidency are enormous.'"
"And true to his reputation as unassuming Jerry, he added: 'I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me with your prayers.'"
I woke up to the news of President Ford's passing.
ReplyDeleteI woke up to hear that President Ford died. He was the first president I remember being interested in and was just nine years old when he ran against Jimmy Carter. I really wanted Ford to win. As far as I was concerned he was a good and kind man, and to me, Jimmy Carter was mean.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts.
A friend remarked to me that Ford passed because he couldn't bear to live in a world without James Brown. I didn't think to remark this at the time, but, what, Ford didn't know about CDs? Pft!
ReplyDeleteHe was a good man. He proved that the Constitution worked. He lived near me when I was a kid. It was pretty awesome.
ReplyDelete