"Thank You for Being Here"



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Topic: Politics > Politics-USA
User: "Ken [NY"
Date: 17 Jun 2004 05:29:21 AM
Object: "Thank You for Being Here"
"Thank You for Being Here"
A nation brought together.
By Jack Dunphy, LAPD
NRO Columnist
On the day it happened, I was a little too young and a lot too foolish
to appreciate my brief encounter with Ronald Reagan. It was 1984, and
I had been called from my normal duties as a patrol officer in
South-Central Los Angeles to augment the security detail at the hotel
where he was staying. My political views, forged as they were in the
days of Watergate and further shaped by eight years of unrelentingly
liberal education, were a far cry from what they are today, so I was
less than thrilled at the prospect of guarding this man for whom I had
so little regard. But I was then, as I remain today, one who follows
orders, so off I went for what I was certain would be a most tedious
assignment.


My instructions were to stand in a particular spot in the hotel's
basement garage. The sergeant who placed me there, a man with hash
marks up to the elbow of his uniform sleeve, made it clear to me that
if I moved so much as a foot from that very spot my police career
would be over before I had sewn on even one. The president's limousine
was nearby, as were the other cars and motorcycles that would form the
motorcade set to depart sometime later, but these were being guarded
by Secret Service agents and other police officers. My lowly
assignment was to guard a service elevator, one that during the hours
I spent standing in front of it seemed all but unused. From time to
time the elevator would open to produce a Secret Service man or some
presidential staffer or two, but few of the people who passed me that
afternoon gave me so much as a nod of recognition. I was invisible,
terrifically bored, and wishing I were back chasing the bad guys out
on the streets.
I wasn't privy to the president's schedule, but when the G-men around
the cars began to stir I knew the show was about to get underway. I
didn't know how the president would make his way to his limousine but
I was hoping for the chance to see him, not out of any sense
admiration, certainly, but rather out of simple curiosity: One sees so
few presidents. But as I was craning my neck to see where he might be
coming from - ever mindful of remaining planted in my designated spot
- the elevator opened and out stepped Ronald Wilson Reagan, president
of the United States.
My surprise must have been evident, for Mr. Reagan paused and gave me
that familiar, fatherly smile. "Hello, young man," he said. I was for
the moment struck dumb, the proper words rattling around in my brain
but hopelessly beyond my grasp. Then, before moving on to his waiting
car, he said the few simple words I will always remember, words that
for me came to symbolize so much about the man I would only much later
come to admire. "Thank you for being here," he said.
With that he walked over to the motorcycle officers who would be
leading his motorcade, shaking hands and exchanging a few words with
each of them. Again, I was anything but an admirer at the time, but I
was struck - I couldn't help but be struck - by the genuine charm he
radiated there in that hotel garage. There were no reporters or
cameras present, but today I wish there had been, for the moment was
well worth memorializing. The motorcycle cops were smiling, the Secret
Service agents were smiling, I was smiling, but the biggest smile of
all was on the face of President Reagan himself. The scar of a
would-be assassin's bullet was still fresh and surely very much on his
mind. He was truly grateful to the men who were there to stand between
himself and harm, and he wanted us to know it.
I am now in middle age, old enough to realize that nearly everything I
believed back then was exactly wrong. It is indeed humbling to admit
it took so many years to recognize the folly of my misguided
education. But with the repudiation of so much of what I had learned
in school came the recognition that Ronald Reagan, this man who took
the time to thank the cops, was beyond doubt one of the giants of the
20th century and of American history. So it was with Reagan's own
words of gratitude in mind, spoken to me almost exactly twenty years
earlier, that I drove out to Simi Valley last week to pay him my
respects.
When not in uniform, my customary mode of dress might be described as
comfortably casual. It might also be described, less charitably, as
slovenly. And I was so attired as I began the drive to the Reagan
Library last Monday evening. But as I drove along I listened to Larry
Elder's radio program, and the topic of discussion was of course
President Reagan's passing. A caller brought up the often-repeated
story that such was Reagan's respect for his position that he never
once removed his jacket in the Oval Office. That was all it took: I
immediately changed course, headed for home, and changed into a
dark-blue suit. It was the very least I could do.
News reports warned of a lengthy wait for the viewing - at least three
hours - but I assumed that even in a worst-case scenario I would be
back at home by one in the morning, leaving me time for a little sleep
before being back at work at six. I'm proud to report how wrong I was.
People coming for the viewing were told to park at Moorpark College,
under ordinary circumstances about a five-minute drive from the Reagan
library. Traffic was backed up for miles on the freeway, but never
have I seen such an orderly traffic jam: There were no horns blaring,
no drivers jockeying for position, no exchanges of rude gestures.
There was only a steady stream of people brought together by a great
unity of purpose, people waiting patiently for their moment at the
casket.
The Secret Service had set up a security checkpoint in a parking lot
at the college, where people were screened for forbidden items before
being loaded onto buses for the short trip to the library. From the
checkpoint the line stretched out in improbable paths across the
campus, snaking this way and that along walkways and through parking
lots and grassy fields, and when I at last found the end in a distant
parking lot I estimated there were some 10,000 people ahead of me.
Conversation came easy, however, and though I had arrived alone, by
the time I reached the checkpoint I was part of a group of at least 25
that had coalesced along the way. I heard not a word of complaint from
anyone, not even the children among us, over the more than six hours
we stood in line. Even actor Tom Selleck, a personal friend of the
Reagans who was somewhere behind us in line, declined an offer to go
directly through security. He would wait, he said, just like everyone
else. It was that kind of crowd.
It was after 3 A.M. when we reached the Reagan library, and we were
fortunate to witness the changing of the honor guard standing sentinel
at the flag-draped casket, a small example of the solemn, military
precision that would be so much in evidence later in the week. We
moved through in silence, our footsteps the only sound, each of us
trying to take in as much as we could in the brief period we were in
the room. Today it's impossible to describe the flood of emotions I
felt as I circled the casket, but suffice it to say the experience was
well worth the wait. I would gladly do it all again.
It was said many times last week that Ronald Reagan's life was
providential, a belief anyone of faith would find difficult to refute.
I believe his passing was no less so. He spent ten long years receding
into the mists of illness, but when he at last left this world, it
came at a time when Americans needed to be reminded that their country
is in peril, and that this peril can be overcome if we will but summon
the courage. In the week of remembrances that ended Friday we were
given that reminder. How fitting it was, reflecting the change in
America and the world brought about during his presidency, that
Friday's ceremonies moved from the gray, weeping skies of Washington
to the dazzling sunshine of Simi Valley. They couldn't have done it
better in Hollywood.
And for me, after 20 years, it was my turn to finally say, "Thank you,
Mr. President. Thank you for being here."
-- Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department.
"Jack Dunphy" is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed are
his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD
management.


Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton
When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/
Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you’re gay.
spammers can send mail to

.

User: "Greg"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 17 Jun 2004 07:59:00 AM
HE'S FUCKING DEAD ALREADY. Put away your Kleenex and masturbation rag and
move on. Just like you freaks can't get over Clinton's success, you wont let
a fake icon die!!! Pitiful. I'd expect that from chickenshit kenny who
circle jerks in a thread then afraid to go one on one. *****.
"Ken [NY)" <email@IsBelow.Text> wrote in message
news:utr2d0dr028d091hqpaj0tn598kfkhra2s@4ax.com...


"Thank You for Being Here"
A nation brought together.
By Jack Dunphy, LAPD
NRO Columnist

On the day it happened, I was a little too young and a lot too foolish
to appreciate my brief encounter with Ronald Reagan. It was 1984, and
I had been called from my normal duties as a patrol officer in
South-Central Los Angeles to augment the security detail at the hotel
where he was staying. My political views, forged as they were in the
days of Watergate and further shaped by eight years of unrelentingly
liberal education, were a far cry from what they are today, so I was
less than thrilled at the prospect of guarding this man for whom I had
so little regard. But I was then, as I remain today, one who follows
orders, so off I went for what I was certain would be a most tedious
assignment.


My instructions were to stand in a particular spot in the hotel's
basement garage. The sergeant who placed me there, a man with hash
marks up to the elbow of his uniform sleeve, made it clear to me that
if I moved so much as a foot from that very spot my police career
would be over before I had sewn on even one. The president's limousine
was nearby, as were the other cars and motorcycles that would form the
motorcade set to depart sometime later, but these were being guarded
by Secret Service agents and other police officers. My lowly
assignment was to guard a service elevator, one that during the hours
I spent standing in front of it seemed all but unused. From time to
time the elevator would open to produce a Secret Service man or some
presidential staffer or two, but few of the people who passed me that
afternoon gave me so much as a nod of recognition. I was invisible,
terrifically bored, and wishing I were back chasing the bad guys out
on the streets.

I wasn't privy to the president's schedule, but when the G-men around
the cars began to stir I knew the show was about to get underway. I
didn't know how the president would make his way to his limousine but
I was hoping for the chance to see him, not out of any sense
admiration, certainly, but rather out of simple curiosity: One sees so
few presidents. But as I was craning my neck to see where he might be
coming from - ever mindful of remaining planted in my designated spot
- the elevator opened and out stepped Ronald Wilson Reagan, president
of the United States.

My surprise must have been evident, for Mr. Reagan paused and gave me
that familiar, fatherly smile. "Hello, young man," he said. I was for
the moment struck dumb, the proper words rattling around in my brain
but hopelessly beyond my grasp. Then, before moving on to his waiting
car, he said the few simple words I will always remember, words that
for me came to symbolize so much about the man I would only much later
come to admire. "Thank you for being here," he said.

With that he walked over to the motorcycle officers who would be
leading his motorcade, shaking hands and exchanging a few words with
each of them. Again, I was anything but an admirer at the time, but I
was struck - I couldn't help but be struck - by the genuine charm he
radiated there in that hotel garage. There were no reporters or
cameras present, but today I wish there had been, for the moment was
well worth memorializing. The motorcycle cops were smiling, the Secret
Service agents were smiling, I was smiling, but the biggest smile of
all was on the face of President Reagan himself. The scar of a
would-be assassin's bullet was still fresh and surely very much on his
mind. He was truly grateful to the men who were there to stand between
himself and harm, and he wanted us to know it.

I am now in middle age, old enough to realize that nearly everything I
believed back then was exactly wrong. It is indeed humbling to admit
it took so many years to recognize the folly of my misguided
education. But with the repudiation of so much of what I had learned
in school came the recognition that Ronald Reagan, this man who took
the time to thank the cops, was beyond doubt one of the giants of the
20th century and of American history. So it was with Reagan's own
words of gratitude in mind, spoken to me almost exactly twenty years
earlier, that I drove out to Simi Valley last week to pay him my
respects.

When not in uniform, my customary mode of dress might be described as
comfortably casual. It might also be described, less charitably, as
slovenly. And I was so attired as I began the drive to the Reagan
Library last Monday evening. But as I drove along I listened to Larry
Elder's radio program, and the topic of discussion was of course
President Reagan's passing. A caller brought up the often-repeated
story that such was Reagan's respect for his position that he never
once removed his jacket in the Oval Office. That was all it took: I
immediately changed course, headed for home, and changed into a
dark-blue suit. It was the very least I could do.

News reports warned of a lengthy wait for the viewing - at least three
hours - but I assumed that even in a worst-case scenario I would be
back at home by one in the morning, leaving me time for a little sleep
before being back at work at six. I'm proud to report how wrong I was.
People coming for the viewing were told to park at Moorpark College,
under ordinary circumstances about a five-minute drive from the Reagan
library. Traffic was backed up for miles on the freeway, but never
have I seen such an orderly traffic jam: There were no horns blaring,
no drivers jockeying for position, no exchanges of rude gestures.
There was only a steady stream of people brought together by a great
unity of purpose, people waiting patiently for their moment at the
casket.

The Secret Service had set up a security checkpoint in a parking lot
at the college, where people were screened for forbidden items before
being loaded onto buses for the short trip to the library. From the
checkpoint the line stretched out in improbable paths across the
campus, snaking this way and that along walkways and through parking
lots and grassy fields, and when I at last found the end in a distant
parking lot I estimated there were some 10,000 people ahead of me.
Conversation came easy, however, and though I had arrived alone, by
the time I reached the checkpoint I was part of a group of at least 25
that had coalesced along the way. I heard not a word of complaint from
anyone, not even the children among us, over the more than six hours
we stood in line. Even actor Tom Selleck, a personal friend of the
Reagans who was somewhere behind us in line, declined an offer to go
directly through security. He would wait, he said, just like everyone
else. It was that kind of crowd.

It was after 3 A.M. when we reached the Reagan library, and we were
fortunate to witness the changing of the honor guard standing sentinel
at the flag-draped casket, a small example of the solemn, military
precision that would be so much in evidence later in the week. We
moved through in silence, our footsteps the only sound, each of us
trying to take in as much as we could in the brief period we were in
the room. Today it's impossible to describe the flood of emotions I
felt as I circled the casket, but suffice it to say the experience was
well worth the wait. I would gladly do it all again.

It was said many times last week that Ronald Reagan's life was
providential, a belief anyone of faith would find difficult to refute.
I believe his passing was no less so. He spent ten long years receding
into the mists of illness, but when he at last left this world, it
came at a time when Americans needed to be reminded that their country
is in peril, and that this peril can be overcome if we will but summon
the courage. In the week of remembrances that ended Friday we were
given that reminder. How fitting it was, reflecting the change in
America and the world brought about during his presidency, that
Friday's ceremonies moved from the gray, weeping skies of Washington
to the dazzling sunshine of Simi Valley. They couldn't have done it
better in Hollywood.

And for me, after 20 years, it was my turn to finally say, "Thank you,
Mr. President. Thank you for being here."

-- Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department.
"Jack Dunphy" is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed are
his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD
management.



Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton

When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/

Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you're gay.

spammers can send mail to


.
User: "Godzilla Pimp"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 17 Jun 2004 08:33:35 AM
LOL, contrast this with your boy Kerry who tells agents, "Get out of my
fucking way, idiot".
"Greg" <grag.g@surferie.net> wrote in message
news:10d35lbbt84dec1@corp.supernews.com...


HE'S FUCKING DEAD ALREADY. Put away your Kleenex and masturbation rag and
move on. Just like you freaks can't get over Clinton's success, you wont

let

a fake icon die!!! Pitiful. I'd expect that from chickenshit kenny who
circle jerks in a thread then afraid to go one on one. *****.
"Ken [NY)" <email@IsBelow.Text> wrote in message
news:utr2d0dr028d091hqpaj0tn598kfkhra2s@4ax.com...


"Thank You for Being Here"
A nation brought together.
By Jack Dunphy, LAPD
NRO Columnist

On the day it happened, I was a little too young and a lot too foolish
to appreciate my brief encounter with Ronald Reagan. It was 1984, and
I had been called from my normal duties as a patrol officer in
South-Central Los Angeles to augment the security detail at the hotel
where he was staying. My political views, forged as they were in the
days of Watergate and further shaped by eight years of unrelentingly
liberal education, were a far cry from what they are today, so I was
less than thrilled at the prospect of guarding this man for whom I had
so little regard. But I was then, as I remain today, one who follows
orders, so off I went for what I was certain would be a most tedious
assignment.


My instructions were to stand in a particular spot in the hotel's
basement garage. The sergeant who placed me there, a man with hash
marks up to the elbow of his uniform sleeve, made it clear to me that
if I moved so much as a foot from that very spot my police career
would be over before I had sewn on even one. The president's limousine
was nearby, as were the other cars and motorcycles that would form the
motorcade set to depart sometime later, but these were being guarded
by Secret Service agents and other police officers. My lowly
assignment was to guard a service elevator, one that during the hours
I spent standing in front of it seemed all but unused. From time to
time the elevator would open to produce a Secret Service man or some
presidential staffer or two, but few of the people who passed me that
afternoon gave me so much as a nod of recognition. I was invisible,
terrifically bored, and wishing I were back chasing the bad guys out
on the streets.

I wasn't privy to the president's schedule, but when the G-men around
the cars began to stir I knew the show was about to get underway. I
didn't know how the president would make his way to his limousine but
I was hoping for the chance to see him, not out of any sense
admiration, certainly, but rather out of simple curiosity: One sees so
few presidents. But as I was craning my neck to see where he might be
coming from - ever mindful of remaining planted in my designated spot
- the elevator opened and out stepped Ronald Wilson Reagan, president
of the United States.

My surprise must have been evident, for Mr. Reagan paused and gave me
that familiar, fatherly smile. "Hello, young man," he said. I was for
the moment struck dumb, the proper words rattling around in my brain
but hopelessly beyond my grasp. Then, before moving on to his waiting
car, he said the few simple words I will always remember, words that
for me came to symbolize so much about the man I would only much later
come to admire. "Thank you for being here," he said.

With that he walked over to the motorcycle officers who would be
leading his motorcade, shaking hands and exchanging a few words with
each of them. Again, I was anything but an admirer at the time, but I
was struck - I couldn't help but be struck - by the genuine charm he
radiated there in that hotel garage. There were no reporters or
cameras present, but today I wish there had been, for the moment was
well worth memorializing. The motorcycle cops were smiling, the Secret
Service agents were smiling, I was smiling, but the biggest smile of
all was on the face of President Reagan himself. The scar of a
would-be assassin's bullet was still fresh and surely very much on his
mind. He was truly grateful to the men who were there to stand between
himself and harm, and he wanted us to know it.

I am now in middle age, old enough to realize that nearly everything I
believed back then was exactly wrong. It is indeed humbling to admit
it took so many years to recognize the folly of my misguided
education. But with the repudiation of so much of what I had learned
in school came the recognition that Ronald Reagan, this man who took
the time to thank the cops, was beyond doubt one of the giants of the
20th century and of American history. So it was with Reagan's own
words of gratitude in mind, spoken to me almost exactly twenty years
earlier, that I drove out to Simi Valley last week to pay him my
respects.

When not in uniform, my customary mode of dress might be described as
comfortably casual. It might also be described, less charitably, as
slovenly. And I was so attired as I began the drive to the Reagan
Library last Monday evening. But as I drove along I listened to Larry
Elder's radio program, and the topic of discussion was of course
President Reagan's passing. A caller brought up the often-repeated
story that such was Reagan's respect for his position that he never
once removed his jacket in the Oval Office. That was all it took: I
immediately changed course, headed for home, and changed into a
dark-blue suit. It was the very least I could do.

News reports warned of a lengthy wait for the viewing - at least three
hours - but I assumed that even in a worst-case scenario I would be
back at home by one in the morning, leaving me time for a little sleep
before being back at work at six. I'm proud to report how wrong I was.
People coming for the viewing were told to park at Moorpark College,
under ordinary circumstances about a five-minute drive from the Reagan
library. Traffic was backed up for miles on the freeway, but never
have I seen such an orderly traffic jam: There were no horns blaring,
no drivers jockeying for position, no exchanges of rude gestures.
There was only a steady stream of people brought together by a great
unity of purpose, people waiting patiently for their moment at the
casket.

The Secret Service had set up a security checkpoint in a parking lot
at the college, where people were screened for forbidden items before
being loaded onto buses for the short trip to the library. From the
checkpoint the line stretched out in improbable paths across the
campus, snaking this way and that along walkways and through parking
lots and grassy fields, and when I at last found the end in a distant
parking lot I estimated there were some 10,000 people ahead of me.
Conversation came easy, however, and though I had arrived alone, by
the time I reached the checkpoint I was part of a group of at least 25
that had coalesced along the way. I heard not a word of complaint from
anyone, not even the children among us, over the more than six hours
we stood in line. Even actor Tom Selleck, a personal friend of the
Reagans who was somewhere behind us in line, declined an offer to go
directly through security. He would wait, he said, just like everyone
else. It was that kind of crowd.

It was after 3 A.M. when we reached the Reagan library, and we were
fortunate to witness the changing of the honor guard standing sentinel
at the flag-draped casket, a small example of the solemn, military
precision that would be so much in evidence later in the week. We
moved through in silence, our footsteps the only sound, each of us
trying to take in as much as we could in the brief period we were in
the room. Today it's impossible to describe the flood of emotions I
felt as I circled the casket, but suffice it to say the experience was
well worth the wait. I would gladly do it all again.

It was said many times last week that Ronald Reagan's life was
providential, a belief anyone of faith would find difficult to refute.
I believe his passing was no less so. He spent ten long years receding
into the mists of illness, but when he at last left this world, it
came at a time when Americans needed to be reminded that their country
is in peril, and that this peril can be overcome if we will but summon
the courage. In the week of remembrances that ended Friday we were
given that reminder. How fitting it was, reflecting the change in
America and the world brought about during his presidency, that
Friday's ceremonies moved from the gray, weeping skies of Washington
to the dazzling sunshine of Simi Valley. They couldn't have done it
better in Hollywood.

And for me, after 20 years, it was my turn to finally say, "Thank you,
Mr. President. Thank you for being here."

-- Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department.
"Jack Dunphy" is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed are
his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD
management.



Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton

When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/

Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you're gay.

spammers can send mail to




.
User: "Greg"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 17 Jun 2004 10:37:36 AM
"Godzilla Pimp" <wah@wahwah.org> wrote in message
news:P4hAc.15151$Y3.4660@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...

LOL, contrast this with your boy Kerry who tells agents, "Get out of my
fucking way, idiot".

Not my boy Kerry, but anyone but Bush. Funny, that's all you have on him.
BAHAHAHAHA


"Greg" <grag.g@surferie.net> wrote in message
news:10d35lbbt84dec1@corp.supernews.com...


HE'S FUCKING DEAD ALREADY. Put away your Kleenex and masturbation rag

and

move on. Just like you freaks can't get over Clinton's success, you wont

let

a fake icon die!!! Pitiful. I'd expect that from chickenshit kenny who
circle jerks in a thread then afraid to go one on one. *****.
"Ken [NY)" <email@IsBelow.Text> wrote in message
news:utr2d0dr028d091hqpaj0tn598kfkhra2s@4ax.com...


"Thank You for Being Here"
A nation brought together.
By Jack Dunphy, LAPD
NRO Columnist

On the day it happened, I was a little too young and a lot too foolish
to appreciate my brief encounter with Ronald Reagan. It was 1984, and
I had been called from my normal duties as a patrol officer in
South-Central Los Angeles to augment the security detail at the hotel
where he was staying. My political views, forged as they were in the
days of Watergate and further shaped by eight years of unrelentingly
liberal education, were a far cry from what they are today, so I was
less than thrilled at the prospect of guarding this man for whom I had
so little regard. But I was then, as I remain today, one who follows
orders, so off I went for what I was certain would be a most tedious
assignment.


My instructions were to stand in a particular spot in the hotel's
basement garage. The sergeant who placed me there, a man with hash
marks up to the elbow of his uniform sleeve, made it clear to me that
if I moved so much as a foot from that very spot my police career
would be over before I had sewn on even one. The president's limousine
was nearby, as were the other cars and motorcycles that would form the
motorcade set to depart sometime later, but these were being guarded
by Secret Service agents and other police officers. My lowly
assignment was to guard a service elevator, one that during the hours
I spent standing in front of it seemed all but unused. From time to
time the elevator would open to produce a Secret Service man or some
presidential staffer or two, but few of the people who passed me that
afternoon gave me so much as a nod of recognition. I was invisible,
terrifically bored, and wishing I were back chasing the bad guys out
on the streets.

I wasn't privy to the president's schedule, but when the G-men around
the cars began to stir I knew the show was about to get underway. I
didn't know how the president would make his way to his limousine but
I was hoping for the chance to see him, not out of any sense
admiration, certainly, but rather out of simple curiosity: One sees so
few presidents. But as I was craning my neck to see where he might be
coming from - ever mindful of remaining planted in my designated spot
- the elevator opened and out stepped Ronald Wilson Reagan, president
of the United States.

My surprise must have been evident, for Mr. Reagan paused and gave me
that familiar, fatherly smile. "Hello, young man," he said. I was for
the moment struck dumb, the proper words rattling around in my brain
but hopelessly beyond my grasp. Then, before moving on to his waiting
car, he said the few simple words I will always remember, words that
for me came to symbolize so much about the man I would only much later
come to admire. "Thank you for being here," he said.

With that he walked over to the motorcycle officers who would be
leading his motorcade, shaking hands and exchanging a few words with
each of them. Again, I was anything but an admirer at the time, but I
was struck - I couldn't help but be struck - by the genuine charm he
radiated there in that hotel garage. There were no reporters or
cameras present, but today I wish there had been, for the moment was
well worth memorializing. The motorcycle cops were smiling, the Secret
Service agents were smiling, I was smiling, but the biggest smile of
all was on the face of President Reagan himself. The scar of a
would-be assassin's bullet was still fresh and surely very much on his
mind. He was truly grateful to the men who were there to stand between
himself and harm, and he wanted us to know it.

I am now in middle age, old enough to realize that nearly everything I
believed back then was exactly wrong. It is indeed humbling to admit
it took so many years to recognize the folly of my misguided
education. But with the repudiation of so much of what I had learned
in school came the recognition that Ronald Reagan, this man who took
the time to thank the cops, was beyond doubt one of the giants of the
20th century and of American history. So it was with Reagan's own
words of gratitude in mind, spoken to me almost exactly twenty years
earlier, that I drove out to Simi Valley last week to pay him my
respects.

When not in uniform, my customary mode of dress might be described as
comfortably casual. It might also be described, less charitably, as
slovenly. And I was so attired as I began the drive to the Reagan
Library last Monday evening. But as I drove along I listened to Larry
Elder's radio program, and the topic of discussion was of course
President Reagan's passing. A caller brought up the often-repeated
story that such was Reagan's respect for his position that he never
once removed his jacket in the Oval Office. That was all it took: I
immediately changed course, headed for home, and changed into a
dark-blue suit. It was the very least I could do.

News reports warned of a lengthy wait for the viewing - at least three
hours - but I assumed that even in a worst-case scenario I would be
back at home by one in the morning, leaving me time for a little sleep
before being back at work at six. I'm proud to report how wrong I was.
People coming for the viewing were told to park at Moorpark College,
under ordinary circumstances about a five-minute drive from the Reagan
library. Traffic was backed up for miles on the freeway, but never
have I seen such an orderly traffic jam: There were no horns blaring,
no drivers jockeying for position, no exchanges of rude gestures.
There was only a steady stream of people brought together by a great
unity of purpose, people waiting patiently for their moment at the
casket.

The Secret Service had set up a security checkpoint in a parking lot
at the college, where people were screened for forbidden items before
being loaded onto buses for the short trip to the library. From the
checkpoint the line stretched out in improbable paths across the
campus, snaking this way and that along walkways and through parking
lots and grassy fields, and when I at last found the end in a distant
parking lot I estimated there were some 10,000 people ahead of me.
Conversation came easy, however, and though I had arrived alone, by
the time I reached the checkpoint I was part of a group of at least 25
that had coalesced along the way. I heard not a word of complaint from
anyone, not even the children among us, over the more than six hours
we stood in line. Even actor Tom Selleck, a personal friend of the
Reagans who was somewhere behind us in line, declined an offer to go
directly through security. He would wait, he said, just like everyone
else. It was that kind of crowd.

It was after 3 A.M. when we reached the Reagan library, and we were
fortunate to witness the changing of the honor guard standing sentinel
at the flag-draped casket, a small example of the solemn, military
precision that would be so much in evidence later in the week. We
moved through in silence, our footsteps the only sound, each of us
trying to take in as much as we could in the brief period we were in
the room. Today it's impossible to describe the flood of emotions I
felt as I circled the casket, but suffice it to say the experience was
well worth the wait. I would gladly do it all again.

It was said many times last week that Ronald Reagan's life was
providential, a belief anyone of faith would find difficult to refute.
I believe his passing was no less so. He spent ten long years receding
into the mists of illness, but when he at last left this world, it
came at a time when Americans needed to be reminded that their country
is in peril, and that this peril can be overcome if we will but summon
the courage. In the week of remembrances that ended Friday we were
given that reminder. How fitting it was, reflecting the change in
America and the world brought about during his presidency, that
Friday's ceremonies moved from the gray, weeping skies of Washington
to the dazzling sunshine of Simi Valley. They couldn't have done it
better in Hollywood.

And for me, after 20 years, it was my turn to finally say, "Thank you,
Mr. President. Thank you for being here."

-- Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department.
"Jack Dunphy" is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed are
his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD
management.



Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton

When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/

Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you're gay.

spammers can send mail to






.
User: "Godzilla Pimp"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 17 Jun 2004 09:37:21 PM
"Greg" <grag.g@surferie.net> wrote in message
news:10d3gnu8e7c7gdb@corp.supernews.com...


"Godzilla Pimp" <wah@wahwah.org> wrote in message
news:P4hAc.15151$Y3.4660@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...

LOL, contrast this with your boy Kerry who tells agents, "Get out of my
fucking way, idiot".


Not my boy Kerry, but anyone but Bush. Funny, that's all you have on him.
BAHAHAHAHA

That, and him being a total ***** and moron.


"Greg" <grag.g@surferie.net> wrote in message
news:10d35lbbt84dec1@corp.supernews.com...


HE'S FUCKING DEAD ALREADY. Put away your Kleenex and masturbation rag

and

move on. Just like you freaks can't get over Clinton's success, you

wont

let

a fake icon die!!! Pitiful. I'd expect that from chickenshit kenny who
circle jerks in a thread then afraid to go one on one. *****.
"Ken [NY)" <email@IsBelow.Text> wrote in message
news:utr2d0dr028d091hqpaj0tn598kfkhra2s@4ax.com...


"Thank You for Being Here"
A nation brought together.
By Jack Dunphy, LAPD
NRO Columnist

On the day it happened, I was a little too young and a lot too

foolish

to appreciate my brief encounter with Ronald Reagan. It was 1984,

and

I had been called from my normal duties as a patrol officer in
South-Central Los Angeles to augment the security detail at the

hotel

where he was staying. My political views, forged as they were in the
days of Watergate and further shaped by eight years of unrelentingly
liberal education, were a far cry from what they are today, so I was
less than thrilled at the prospect of guarding this man for whom I

had

so little regard. But I was then, as I remain today, one who follows
orders, so off I went for what I was certain would be a most tedious
assignment.


My instructions were to stand in a particular spot in the hotel's
basement garage. The sergeant who placed me there, a man with hash
marks up to the elbow of his uniform sleeve, made it clear to me

that

if I moved so much as a foot from that very spot my police career
would be over before I had sewn on even one. The president's

limousine

was nearby, as were the other cars and motorcycles that would form

the

motorcade set to depart sometime later, but these were being guarded
by Secret Service agents and other police officers. My lowly
assignment was to guard a service elevator, one that during the

hours

I spent standing in front of it seemed all but unused. From time to
time the elevator would open to produce a Secret Service man or some
presidential staffer or two, but few of the people who passed me

that

afternoon gave me so much as a nod of recognition. I was invisible,
terrifically bored, and wishing I were back chasing the bad guys out
on the streets.

I wasn't privy to the president's schedule, but when the G-men

around

the cars began to stir I knew the show was about to get underway. I
didn't know how the president would make his way to his limousine

but

I was hoping for the chance to see him, not out of any sense
admiration, certainly, but rather out of simple curiosity: One sees

so

few presidents. But as I was craning my neck to see where he might

be

coming from - ever mindful of remaining planted in my designated

spot

- the elevator opened and out stepped Ronald Wilson Reagan,

president

of the United States.

My surprise must have been evident, for Mr. Reagan paused and gave

me

that familiar, fatherly smile. "Hello, young man," he said. I was

for

the moment struck dumb, the proper words rattling around in my brain
but hopelessly beyond my grasp. Then, before moving on to his

waiting

car, he said the few simple words I will always remember, words that
for me came to symbolize so much about the man I would only much

later

come to admire. "Thank you for being here," he said.

With that he walked over to the motorcycle officers who would be
leading his motorcade, shaking hands and exchanging a few words with
each of them. Again, I was anything but an admirer at the time, but

I

was struck - I couldn't help but be struck - by the genuine charm he
radiated there in that hotel garage. There were no reporters or
cameras present, but today I wish there had been, for the moment was
well worth memorializing. The motorcycle cops were smiling, the

Secret

Service agents were smiling, I was smiling, but the biggest smile of
all was on the face of President Reagan himself. The scar of a
would-be assassin's bullet was still fresh and surely very much on

his

mind. He was truly grateful to the men who were there to stand

between

himself and harm, and he wanted us to know it.

I am now in middle age, old enough to realize that nearly everything

I

believed back then was exactly wrong. It is indeed humbling to admit
it took so many years to recognize the folly of my misguided
education. But with the repudiation of so much of what I had learned
in school came the recognition that Ronald Reagan, this man who took
the time to thank the cops, was beyond doubt one of the giants of

the

20th century and of American history. So it was with Reagan's own
words of gratitude in mind, spoken to me almost exactly twenty years
earlier, that I drove out to Simi Valley last week to pay him my
respects.

When not in uniform, my customary mode of dress might be described

as

comfortably casual. It might also be described, less charitably, as
slovenly. And I was so attired as I began the drive to the Reagan
Library last Monday evening. But as I drove along I listened to

Larry

Elder's radio program, and the topic of discussion was of course
President Reagan's passing. A caller brought up the often-repeated
story that such was Reagan's respect for his position that he never
once removed his jacket in the Oval Office. That was all it took: I
immediately changed course, headed for home, and changed into a
dark-blue suit. It was the very least I could do.

News reports warned of a lengthy wait for the viewing - at least

three

hours - but I assumed that even in a worst-case scenario I would be
back at home by one in the morning, leaving me time for a little

sleep

before being back at work at six. I'm proud to report how wrong I

was.

People coming for the viewing were told to park at Moorpark College,
under ordinary circumstances about a five-minute drive from the

Reagan

library. Traffic was backed up for miles on the freeway, but never
have I seen such an orderly traffic jam: There were no horns

blaring,

no drivers jockeying for position, no exchanges of rude gestures.
There was only a steady stream of people brought together by a great
unity of purpose, people waiting patiently for their moment at the
casket.

The Secret Service had set up a security checkpoint in a parking lot
at the college, where people were screened for forbidden items

before

being loaded onto buses for the short trip to the library. From the
checkpoint the line stretched out in improbable paths across the
campus, snaking this way and that along walkways and through parking
lots and grassy fields, and when I at last found the end in a

distant

parking lot I estimated there were some 10,000 people ahead of me.
Conversation came easy, however, and though I had arrived alone, by
the time I reached the checkpoint I was part of a group of at least

25

that had coalesced along the way. I heard not a word of complaint

from

anyone, not even the children among us, over the more than six hours
we stood in line. Even actor Tom Selleck, a personal friend of the
Reagans who was somewhere behind us in line, declined an offer to go
directly through security. He would wait, he said, just like

everyone

else. It was that kind of crowd.

It was after 3 A.M. when we reached the Reagan library, and we were
fortunate to witness the changing of the honor guard standing

sentinel

at the flag-draped casket, a small example of the solemn, military
precision that would be so much in evidence later in the week. We
moved through in silence, our footsteps the only sound, each of us
trying to take in as much as we could in the brief period we were in
the room. Today it's impossible to describe the flood of emotions I
felt as I circled the casket, but suffice it to say the experience

was

well worth the wait. I would gladly do it all again.

It was said many times last week that Ronald Reagan's life was
providential, a belief anyone of faith would find difficult to

refute.

I believe his passing was no less so. He spent ten long years

receding

into the mists of illness, but when he at last left this world, it
came at a time when Americans needed to be reminded that their

country

is in peril, and that this peril can be overcome if we will but

summon

the courage. In the week of remembrances that ended Friday we were
given that reminder. How fitting it was, reflecting the change in
America and the world brought about during his presidency, that
Friday's ceremonies moved from the gray, weeping skies of Washington
to the dazzling sunshine of Simi Valley. They couldn't have done it
better in Hollywood.

And for me, after 20 years, it was my turn to finally say, "Thank

you,

Mr. President. Thank you for being here."

-- Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department.
"Jack Dunphy" is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed

are

his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD
management.



Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton

When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/

Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you're gay.

spammers can send mail to








.

User: "Ken [NY"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 18 Jun 2004 11:49:41 AM
On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 11:37:36 -0400, "Greg" <grag.g@surferie.net>
ejaculated:

"Godzilla Pimp" <wah@wahwah.org> wrote in message
news:P4hAc.15151$Y3.4660@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...

LOL, contrast this with your boy Kerry who tells agents, "Get out of my
fucking way, idiot".


Not my boy Kerry, but anyone but Bush. Funny, that's all you have on him.
BAHAHAHAHA

Kerry is an admitted war criminal. You knew that, correct? I
would think that he will be in prison some day.
Cheers,
Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton
When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/
Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you’re gay.
spammers can send mail to

.
User: "Greg"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 18 Jun 2004 03:09:56 PM
"Ken [NY)" <email@IsBelow.Text> wrote in message
news:vq66d0poq5n9djd9c5qmpfgovm2ojkhnvr@4ax.com...

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 11:37:36 -0400, "Greg" <grag.g@surferie.net>
ejaculated:

"Godzilla Pimp" <wah@wahwah.org> wrote in message
news:P4hAc.15151$Y3.4660@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...

LOL, contrast this with your boy Kerry who tells agents, "Get out of my
fucking way, idiot".


Not my boy Kerry, but anyone but Bush. Funny, that's all you have on him.
BAHAHAHAHA


Kerry is an admitted war criminal. You knew that, correct? I
would think that he will be in prison some day.

STFU unless you want to discuss the Patriot Act you *****.


Cheers,

Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton

When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/

Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you're gay.

spammers can send mail to


.
User: "Sam"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 18 Jun 2004 08:22:33 PM
Greg spray painted on the wall :



Kerry is an admitted war criminal. You knew that, correct? I
would think that he will be in prison some day.


STFU unless you want to discuss the Patriot Act you *****.

Another liberal against freedom of speech.
--
Sam-I-Am
Creativity is allowing oneself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which
ones to keep. -Scott Adams
.

User: "Johnny Bravo"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 24 Jun 2004 06:27:21 PM
Holy *****--- John Kerry is one ugly motha...
.
User: "David Galehouse"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 24 Jun 2004 06:36:03 PM
"Johnny Bravo" <tullum@cfl.rr.com> wrote in message
news:trJCc.44$OR4.25478@twister.tampabay.rr.com...

Holy *****--- John Kerry is one ugly motha...


Is that how you form your political opinions? Do you go on some kind of
weird fuckability scale or something? Odd, but hey! Whatever gets you off!
.

User: "Mr. N"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 24 Jun 2004 06:55:38 PM
"Johnny Bravo" <tullum@cfl.rr.com> wrote in message
news:trJCc.44$OR4.25478@twister.tampabay.rr.com...

Holy *****--- John Kerry is one ugly motha...

So's ya mama, neener-neener.
--
-Mr. N
*************************
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to
explain to us what the exit strategy is."
-George W. Bush, April 9, 1999
.


User: "Ken [NY"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 19 Jun 2004 11:20:16 AM
On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 16:09:56 -0400, "Greg" <grag.g@surferie.net>
ejaculated:

"Godzilla Pimp" <wah@wahwah.org> wrote in message
news:P4hAc.15151$Y3.4660@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net...

LOL, contrast this with your boy Kerry who tells agents, "Get out of my
fucking way, idiot".


Not my boy Kerry, but anyone but Bush. Funny, that's all you have on him.
BAHAHAHAHA


Kerry is an admitted war criminal. You knew that, correct? I
would think that he will be in prison some day.


STFU unless you want to discuss the Patriot Act you *****.

Why change the subject? Oh, I see. You lost.
Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton
When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/
Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you’re gay.
spammers can send mail to

.




User: "Len"

Title: Re: "Thank You for Being Here" 19 Jun 2004 12:35:38 PM
That and when Hillary talks to them, it is the same attitude.

LOL, contrast this with your boy Kerry who tells agents, "Get out of my
fucking way, idiot".

"Greg" <grag.g@surferie.net> wrote in message
news:10d35lbbt84dec1@corp.supernews.com...


HE'S FUCKING DEAD ALREADY. Put away your Kleenex and masturbation rag and
move on. Just like you freaks can't get over Clinton's success, you wont

let

a fake icon die!!! Pitiful. I'd expect that from chickenshit kenny who
circle jerks in a thread then afraid to go one on one. *****.
"Ken [NY)" <email@IsBelow.Text> wrote in message
news:utr2d0dr028d091hqpaj0tn598kfkhra2s@4ax.com...


"Thank You for Being Here"
A nation brought together.
By Jack Dunphy, LAPD
NRO Columnist

On the day it happened, I was a little too young and a lot too foolish
to appreciate my brief encounter with Ronald Reagan. It was 1984, and
I had been called from my normal duties as a patrol officer in
South-Central Los Angeles to augment the security detail at the hotel
where he was staying. My political views, forged as they were in the
days of Watergate and further shaped by eight years of unrelentingly
liberal education, were a far cry from what they are today, so I was
less than thrilled at the prospect of guarding this man for whom I had
so little regard. But I was then, as I remain today, one who follows
orders, so off I went for what I was certain would be a most tedious
assignment.


My instructions were to stand in a particular spot in the hotel's
basement garage. The sergeant who placed me there, a man with hash
marks up to the elbow of his uniform sleeve, made it clear to me that
if I moved so much as a foot from that very spot my police career
would be over before I had sewn on even one. The president's limousine
was nearby, as were the other cars and motorcycles that would form the
motorcade set to depart sometime later, but these were being guarded
by Secret Service agents and other police officers. My lowly
assignment was to guard a service elevator, one that during the hours
I spent standing in front of it seemed all but unused. From time to
time the elevator would open to produce a Secret Service man or some
presidential staffer or two, but few of the people who passed me that
afternoon gave me so much as a nod of recognition. I was invisible,
terrifically bored, and wishing I were back chasing the bad guys out
on the streets.

I wasn't privy to the president's schedule, but when the G-men around
the cars began to stir I knew the show was about to get underway. I
didn't know how the president would make his way to his limousine but
I was hoping for the chance to see him, not out of any sense
admiration, certainly, but rather out of simple curiosity: One sees so
few presidents. But as I was craning my neck to see where he might be
coming from - ever mindful of remaining planted in my designated spot
- the elevator opened and out stepped Ronald Wilson Reagan, president
of the United States.

My surprise must have been evident, for Mr. Reagan paused and gave me
that familiar, fatherly smile. "Hello, young man," he said. I was for
the moment struck dumb, the proper words rattling around in my brain
but hopelessly beyond my grasp. Then, before moving on to his waiting
car, he said the few simple words I will always remember, words that
for me came to symbolize so much about the man I would only much later
come to admire. "Thank you for being here," he said.

With that he walked over to the motorcycle officers who would be
leading his motorcade, shaking hands and exchanging a few words with
each of them. Again, I was anything but an admirer at the time, but I
was struck - I couldn't help but be struck - by the genuine charm he
radiated there in that hotel garage. There were no reporters or
cameras present, but today I wish there had been, for the moment was
well worth memorializing. The motorcycle cops were smiling, the Secret
Service agents were smiling, I was smiling, but the biggest smile of
all was on the face of President Reagan himself. The scar of a
would-be assassin's bullet was still fresh and surely very much on his
mind. He was truly grateful to the men who were there to stand between
himself and harm, and he wanted us to know it.

I am now in middle age, old enough to realize that nearly everything I
believed back then was exactly wrong. It is indeed humbling to admit
it took so many years to recognize the folly of my misguided
education. But with the repudiation of so much of what I had learned
in school came the recognition that Ronald Reagan, this man who took
the time to thank the cops, was beyond doubt one of the giants of the
20th century and of American history. So it was with Reagan's own
words of gratitude in mind, spoken to me almost exactly twenty years
earlier, that I drove out to Simi Valley last week to pay him my
respects.

When not in uniform, my customary mode of dress might be described as
comfortably casual. It might also be described, less charitably, as
slovenly. And I was so attired as I began the drive to the Reagan
Library last Monday evening. But as I drove along I listened to Larry
Elder's radio program, and the topic of discussion was of course
President Reagan's passing. A caller brought up the often-repeated
story that such was Reagan's respect for his position that he never
once removed his jacket in the Oval Office. That was all it took: I
immediately changed course, headed for home, and changed into a
dark-blue suit. It was the very least I could do.

News reports warned of a lengthy wait for the viewing - at least three
hours - but I assumed that even in a worst-case scenario I would be
back at home by one in the morning, leaving me time for a little sleep
before being back at work at six. I'm proud to report how wrong I was.
People coming for the viewing were told to park at Moorpark College,
under ordinary circumstances about a five-minute drive from the Reagan
library. Traffic was backed up for miles on the freeway, but never
have I seen such an orderly traffic jam: There were no horns blaring,
no drivers jockeying for position, no exchanges of rude gestures.
There was only a steady stream of people brought together by a great
unity of purpose, people waiting patiently for their moment at the
casket.

The Secret Service had set up a security checkpoint in a parking lot
at the college, where people were screened for forbidden items before
being loaded onto buses for the short trip to the library. From the
checkpoint the line stretched out in improbable paths across the
campus, snaking this way and that along walkways and through parking
lots and grassy fields, and when I at last found the end in a distant
parking lot I estimated there were some 10,000 people ahead of me.
Conversation came easy, however, and though I had arrived alone, by
the time I reached the checkpoint I was part of a group of at least 25
that had coalesced along the way. I heard not a word of complaint from
anyone, not even the children among us, over the more than six hours
we stood in line. Even actor Tom Selleck, a personal friend of the
Reagans who was somewhere behind us in line, declined an offer to go
directly through security. He would wait, he said, just like everyone
else. It was that kind of crowd.

It was after 3 A.M. when we reached the Reagan library, and we were
fortunate to witness the changing of the honor guard standing sentinel
at the flag-draped casket, a small example of the solemn, military
precision that would be so much in evidence later in the week. We
moved through in silence, our footsteps the only sound, each of us
trying to take in as much as we could in the brief period we were in
the room. Today it's impossible to describe the flood of emotions I
felt as I circled the casket, but suffice it to say the experience was
well worth the wait. I would gladly do it all again.

It was said many times last week that Ronald Reagan's life was
providential, a belief anyone of faith would find difficult to refute.
I believe his passing was no less so. He spent ten long years receding
into the mists of illness, but when he at last left this world, it
came at a time when Americans needed to be reminded that their country
is in peril, and that this peril can be overcome if we will but summon
the courage. In the week of remembrances that ended Friday we were
given that reminder. How fitting it was, reflecting the change in
America and the world brought about during his presidency, that
Friday's ceremonies moved from the gray, weeping skies of Washington
to the dazzling sunshine of Simi Valley. They couldn't have done it
better in Hollywood.

And for me, after 20 years, it was my turn to finally say, "Thank you,
Mr. President. Thank you for being here."

-- Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department.
"Jack Dunphy" is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed are
his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD
management.



Ken (NY)
Chairman,
Department Of Redundancy Department®
___________________________________
email:
http://www.geocities.com/bluesguy68/email.htm

"It should be the policy of the United States to
support efforts to remove the regime headed by
Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote
the emergence of a democratic government to replace
that regime,"
--1998 Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338)
signed by Bill Clinton

When ye encounter the infidels, strike off their heads
till ye have made a great slaughter among them, and of
the rest, make fast the fetters.
http://www.truthnet.org/islam/Quran/Rodwell/47/

Q: What the hardest thing about rollerblading?
A: Telling your parents you're gay.

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==
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant
that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it. -- Thomas Sowell
.




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