Tear Down This Wall

Let us not place blame. Let us seek resolution. Let us seek answers.

As President John F. Kennedy was quoted, "Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

I may not be a great President; however; I am a good person, who is not a polictical beast. With that said, I am tired of the news and the sound bites surrounding the Presidential primaries. So I have decided to write my political story. It is not a RANT or a RAVE. It is what has been, and what it has become for me.

I met Ronald Reagan during my junior year at Northrop, and it was one of the times I wore a dress during high school. My mother told me to behave myself. Wearing a dress and behaving were not a good mix. There was a brief silence when I met Governor Reagan with my mother’s voice in my head…”Behave.” I slowly asked in a matter of fact speech, “How is the Borax team?”

He politely smiled.

I calmly stated, “I understand you made a movie with a monkey.”

Still smiling.

“Now, you’re in politics. (Pause) It seems like a good career progression from the Borax team and a monkey.”

He broke out laughing. His eyes were kind and sparkled as he smiled.

It probably was a good thing I did not inquire about Jane Wyman, “Falcon Crest,” and the script changes I desired, and how to rewrite those storylines.

After the Governor left to speak at the War Memorial Coliseum, one of his security men walked up to me, and said, "Governor Reagan would like your name and address. I scribbled down the requested information as I quipped, “Do you plan to run background checks on my mom and dad?” He stared and gave me a stern, “Thank you.”

I received in the U.S. Mail two weeks later an autographed photograph with a handwritten note from him. I voted for Ronald Reagan because he had a sense of humor, seemed authentic, and had integrity.

In my high school yearbook, there is photo of the back of my head with my friends listening to Dan Quayle. Our Principal Ms. Todd greeted the students at the door. She looked at me and blurted out: “You’re in this class?!” I found her statement strangely complimentary.

Mr. Quayle could not answer my question during our Government class, and I repeated it three times. He gave me three different answers. “Did I vote for him?”

You can vote for a party. Or you can vote for the people with platforms that parallels with yours. My friends and neighbors have written my name in on their ballots numerous times throughout the years, and I am honored. So feel free to write me in as your candidate since I do not take funding and I have no funding.

Some candidates want to build walls. I encourage you to be open and may other walls come down. As President Reagan exclaimed, "Tear down this wall!"