What in the world do 4 GOP Ex-Presidents (living and dead) have in common with Bobby Daren"s song "Beyond the Sea"?
Well, it's a varied and unusal tale....one I have cobbled together for this blog. It's about wives who stick around.
It begins in July of 1990. My then-young family and I were invited to President Nixon's Grand Opening of his Presidential Museum in Yorba Linda, CA. John Taylor, his Chief of Staff was kind enough to invite us, as President Nixon had appointed me to a service academy and had honored me by returning my notes of encouragement with his own kind letters, autographed books and notes, once he left office. We showed up and enjoyed a day of celebration, lo these 18 years ago....it has stuck with me since.
Back to Bobby Daren's song. Each one of these men loved their wives...and stayed with them a looooong time. I remember that each President seemed to love his bride "out loud". Though President Carter was missing from this event, his love for his wife is well known and very public - matching theirs.
Imagine having all the power in the world, knowing and being known...and never having the real love of a spouse. Fake life, that's all it'd be. Yet each of these men left office and gained life with a wonderful wife. Forget about civics....think about this as life.
Here's the You Tube song. Below are the lyrics. Or maybe you'd like to see Kevin Spacey sing it? (His is one of the best bios of a singer I have ever seen. I wonder if he could play one of the Presidents! tee hee.)
Den
"Beyond The Sea"
Somewhere beyond the sea,
Somewhere waiting for me,
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailing.
Somewhere beyond the sea
She's there watching for me.
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms I'd go sailing
It's far beyond the star,
It's near beyond the moon.
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
We'll meet beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
And happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailing
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
We'll meet, I know, we'll meet beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
And happy we will be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailing
No more sailing
So long, sailing, sailing, no more sailing
Good-bye, farewell my friend, no more sailing
So long sailing, no more sailing
No more, farewell...
No more sailing
Den,
I just read many of your articles. You write really interesting things. How do you think of all this stuff? How does that mind of yours work? I am amazed.
Posted by: Mark Stewart | July 29, 2008 at 10:19 PM