Barbara Bush leaves behind quite a legacy

     Last Tuesday, our country lost a dynamic First Lady: Barbara Pierce Bush.

     The 92-year-old held a title only one other First Lady in our nation’s history held, that of a wife and a mother of a president. Barbara was wife of the 41^st president, George H.W. Bush, and mother of the 43^rd president, George W. Bush. Her son, Jeb Bush, ran for president in 2016.

     The only other First Lady to hold this same title was Abigail Adams, wife of our nation’s second president, John Adams, and mother of the sixth president, John Quincy Adams.

     I watched the historic funeral of Barbara Bush’s Saturday afternoon. It was an historic moment with several of our country’s presidents and First Ladies in attendance, as well as former White House staff and administrators who served under Bush 41.

     Watching Bush 43 wheel his father into the church, both as former presidents, was a sight to take in.

     Seeing Barbara’s eight grandsons accompany her casket down the aisle was just awesome to see.

     Hearing the words her granddaughters read from the pulpit was quite emotional.

     You definitely got the sense that the Bush family is a tight-knit unit of several generations now.

     Aside from taking in live coverage of Barbara Bush’s funeral, I wanted to take aim at the national news prior to funeral.

     On Tuesday, April 17, the day Barbara Bush passed, and immediately in the days following, many of the national news networks failed to provide in depth coverage of Mrs. Bush and her life and the legacy she left behind. Unfortunately, the news was focused on the politics of today: former FBI Director James Comey’s new book, the release of Comey’s memos from his time with the FBI, the on-going scandal against Trump and his alleged mistresses, and whether Trump was going to fire Mueller. (That’s a lot of breaking news!)

     While I am sure all of these topics were pertinent, I think I speak for many of both sides of the political spectrum when I say, “We could have used a welcome break.”

     Honoring Barbara Bush’s life would not only have been that welcome distraction, but worthy of national news coverage. It’s not every day we lose a beloved First Lady, much less a 92-year-old First Lady. (Yes, Nancy Reagan passed away in 2016 at the age of 94.)

     It’s a shame that many of the evening and late-night news broadcasts chose to devote most of their nightly coverage to the drama of the week rather than Mrs. Bush. Many of the newscasts I tuned into merely gave her the last five to 10 minutes of their hour-long segment. Shame…

     While I was in my younger years during George H.W. and Barbara Bush’s time in the White House (1989-93), my interest in history and presidential history at that, has been consumed by the Bushes (and Kennedys). So I wanted to point out a few of the reasons Barbara Bush was such a dynamic figure…

     In the late ‘80s, early in Bush 41’s presidency, Barbara led the movement in support of people with HIV and AIDS. An iconic photo recently emerged of Barbara holding an African American AIDS baby, cradling it in her arms.

     She also paved the way for early childhood literacy. Sherri Hunt, the Cedar/Jones ECI (Early Childhood Iowa) director, posted on Facebook shortly after Barbara Bush’s passing: “Parents are their child’s first teachers, and the home is the child’s first school. One of the most important things parents can do to help their children succeed in school is to read to them early and often.” Hunt posted this in honor of Mrs. Bush, a huge advocate for early literacy.

     Among ECI’s many goals, one of those is early literacy. What a fitting tribute…

     Bush 41 felt he needed to honor his wife of 71 years (The longest married First Couple in U.S. history.) during her funeral. He did so by wearing socks with images of books on them, to continue her mission of literacy and reading for all.