Good morning, Netizens...

In life, I did not particularly like President Ronald Reagan either as an actor or a politician. I did find, in his passage, that his austere funeral was truly moving, the kind of way I would envision a head of state should be honored. But perhaps something else should be noted, that the quiet dignity of his widow, Nancy Reagan, sits very well in my heart and mind. Now 87 years old, in the above picture (AP 2008) each anniversary of Ronald Reagan's death, Nancy Reagan pays homage to him at the Reagan Library where he is entombed.

When I consider this picture, it speaks to me first of love, for despite my political and ideological differences with the Reagans, I never have had a moment's doubt of their love for one another, a love which now has surpassed even the grave. One of the “gifts”, as odd as it might seem, of not having anything resembling a close relationship with my family is that I tend to cherish close friends all the more, and thus this picture reminds me of how deeply the love of family must run.

Some of us here in the Grand Ballroom have lost partners and friends over the passage of time, but how do we remember them? Do we remember the anniversary they died by paying a visit, as does Nancy Reagan? Did you let go of the heartbreak of death and simply let it pass, or do you commemorate their passage each year?

Dave

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