reassessment? that s one of the many choices. i agree the values are still out there but we ve been slipping away. this generation, this world war ii generation increasingly seems from a vanished world. what s encouraging is the you younger people today, there s a lot of idealism. i think they take heart in listening to what george h.w. bush helped. and bush 43, what was striking to me, he reread a part of his father s inaugural address. and his father said we cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account, we must also give them a sense what it means to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood and town better
friends with whom he shared or received the latest jokes. his grading system for the quality of the joke was classic george bush. the rare 7s and 8s were considered huge winners. most of them off color. george bush knew how to be a true and loyal friend. he nurtured and honored his many friendships with a generous and giving soul. there exists thousands of handwritten notes encouraging or sympathizing or thanking his friends and aquaintances. he had an enormous capacity to give of himself. many a person would tell you that dad became a mentor and a father figure in their life. he listened and he consoled. he was their friend. i think of don rhodes, taylor blanton, jim nantz, arnold schwarzenegger, and perhaps the unlikeliest of all, the man who defeated him, bill clinton.
a friend will not say never because the welcome will not end though it s hard to let you go in the father s hands we know that a lifetime s not too long to live as friends no, a lifetime s not too long to live as friends
herbert walker bush is this. you would have wanted him on your side. he never lost his sense of humor. humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of life. that s what humor is. he never hated anyone. he knew what his mother and my mother always knew, hatred corrodes the container it s carried in. the most honest and decent person i ever met was my friend, george bush. his epitaph, perhaps a single letter, the letter l for loyalty. it coursed through his blood. loyalty to his country, loyalty to his family, loyalty to his friends, loyalty to the institutions of government and always, always, always a friend
president of the united states. a diplomat of unmatched skill. a commander in chief of formidable accomplishment, and a gentleman who executed the duties of his office with dignity and honor. in his inaugural address the 41st president of the united states said this. we cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account, we must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend, a loving parent, a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood and town better than he found it. what do we want the men and women who work with us to say when we were no longer there. that we were more driven to succeed than anyone around us or that we stopped to ask if a sick child had gotten better and stayed a moment there to trade a word of friendship. well, dad, we re going to remember you for exactly that and much more, and we re going