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Fred K

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Reunite; Nation Ends Grieving Over Loss of Gerald Ford

by Fred K []
Published on 27/12/06 in Death
If a former president's death barely registers across the country's psyche, it puts in perspective what chance I have, if any, of even being remembered by my own family. Humble, perhaps, in life, news of his death was acutely humiliating. And, in this way, I find him an endearing figure.
I sip my morning coffee and peruse a listing of the most popular stories on CNN.com. 

They are, in order:

1. Senate sex blog heads towards x-rated trial
2. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban reunite
3. A holiday luggage mix-up in Houston
4. James Brown's body to lie in Apollo Theater
5. President Ford dies

Yes, the death of former President Gerald Ford comes in somewhere after Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's relationship status, according to the metric of American popularity.  Surely we can all see the rapt attention that a luggage mix-up garners, can't we?  Truly, all glory is fleeting.  Which makes me wonder, what are the five inane things that will trump my inevitable death?

If a former president's death barely registers across the country's psyche, it puts in perspective what chance I have, if any, of even being remembered by my own family.  While Ford was perhaps humble in life, news of his death was acutely humiliating.  And, in this way, I find him an endearing figure.  Who can name five facts about Gerald Ford?  Here is a former president who left such a tiny footprint on American history.  He barely kept the chair warm for Jimmy Carter. 

Today the government seems so incredibly heavy-handed.  I beg and pray for President Bush to give us a breather by taking a few weeks off in Crawford, Texas.  Please, sir, stop flogging us.  Or, at least, do whatever you must do, quickly!  Watch him now, as he summons the cabal to attempt to turn Iraq straw into gold, but breaks the spinning wheel in the process.  He is a man who, with every move, seems to waylay something.

Say what you will about Gerald Ford, but he did us all a favor by first doing no harm.  He did not view his sudden Presidential birth as a chance to right old wrongs, fulfill a destiny, or to establish his "legacy."  He did nothing of consequence.  And, perhaps, there's something to be said for that.

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5 Comments

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moodiedyer

Amber Moodie-Dyer
Yes indeed, I find myself constantly mesmerized (and terrorized) by the country's "top five searches/news items of the day/etc. etc." as well. I remember at one particular point in time finding this list:

Jessica Simpson
Janet Jackson
Angelina Jolie
Massive black hole
CIA leak

oy veigh, what is the world coming to. Written on 29/12/06

fuscia13

Suzy Krone
Way cool. Nathan and I where having a similar conversation last night w'ilst jogging around the poorly paved courthouse. Wasteful government spending on the local level is another good article. Perhaps I should write it. Anyway, it's good to see your writing making it's way to the surface at long last. I always thought you should be a editorialist......person.... I had a dream about your condo, it didn't look like I expected ;0)
-Suzy

"I wasn't sleeping, I was just drunk! " -Homer Written on 29/12/06

maven

Fred K
Hey, thanks for the comments! It's interesting that the situation President Bush is in now is comparable to the one Ford found himself in when taking office: presiding over a bitter war, and an inflamed nation. I think Bush would do himself, and us, a favor if he took a moment to ponder Ford's pragmatism. Written on 29/12/06

duggdown

Fred K
In the words of Hippocrates himself: "Declare the past, diagnose the present, foretell the future; practice these acts. As to diseases [or as the case may be, the presidency], make a habit of two things — to help, or at least to do no harm." If only politicians took such an oath. . .
Written on 29/12/06

Agata

Agata
sex and rumor about celebs is more attractive for people than other news. And you'll notice this rule on every news digest, especially if it's online.

signature: "I think sex toys are better than logic, but I can't prove it."
Written on 28/8/08

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