“ …who more than self
their country loved…”
If those
words sound familiar, it’s because they are. They come from the second verse of
America the Beautiful. As I heard them sung by the choir in the rotunda where
President G.W. Bush has been lying in state, I could not imagine more
appropriate (and timely) words to describe his life.
Needless to
say, I am proud any time there is a service at our Episcopal, Washington National
Cathedral, and am especially proud when a fellow Episcopalian is honored. When I
learned many years ago that President and Barbara Bush went to the Episcopal
Church whenever they were in Palm Springs, I decided we should make name tags for them, just in case they got lost and
ended up at St. John’s, Corona! (It is hard to imagine, of course, the Secret
Service letting that happen!)
To all the
tributes being made this week, I would just add that once in a while, we are
reminded, by great contrast, that character counts. Thank God for someone who served in and presided over the sacred Office of President not only with such width and depth of experience, but with dignity, kindness and grace.
John
P.S. As
Kathleen will be out of town, I will be cooking dinner on our National Day of
Mourning, Wednesday, December 5th. While I am able to cook almost
anything, I have chosen Bush Baked Beans. (picture above)
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