http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10949314/


They say these things come in 3's....James Brown, Gerald Ford....who's next? 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10949314/


They say these things come in 3's....James Brown, Gerald Ford....who's next? 



oh wow...I was JUST thinking this.  :o

RIP Mr. Ford. :\'(

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10949314/


They say these things come in 3's....James Brown, Gerald Ford....who's next? 
well, there was also the death of Peter Boyle. So there is your 3 :\'(

R.I.P. Mr. Ford  :\'(


They say these things come in 3's....James Brown, Gerald Ford....who's next? 


Mike Evans.  3 people who achieved great popularity in the 70s

I wonder if he'll have a state funeral like Ronald Reagan did, or if the family requested something else.  I know that most former Presidents have given their funeral plans to the appropriate people.

R.I.P. former President Ford.  :(

RIP :\'(

The only one I've ever met.

I was all of six years old.  The main square of our little New Hampshire town was mobbed.  I'd never seen such a big crowd, so many people in one place.  I had never seen so many gigant cars and big, tall men in black suits and dark glasses.  I didn't know what their purpose was.  They seemed to move and stand still at the same time, and stare at all and no one.  I had seen pictures of helicoptors, but here they were very real, hovering with awesome noise.  There were flags, streamers, placards, red white and blue everywhere.  A brass band played a march, Sousa most likely, but it just sounded like a giant heart going thud thud thud to me!  Sensory overload.  More than my mind could absorb.  

I wasn't aware I was in line to shake the president's hand until I was next in line.  There he was, the leader of the free world in the flesh.  I didn't understand who the president was, just that he was the most important man in our country.  It was all of five seconds but time had no measure at that moment.  My sister ran right for Mr. Ford.  His eyes twinkled and he grinned at my sister's pluck.  I stepped forward gingerly.  The president radiated sheer power, he seemed "bigger than life," as the cliche goes.  I thrust out my tiny hand and for a sliver of an instant it was buried a massive, sweaty mitt with crushing force, then I was back with my mother.  Folks were chuckling.  As I darted back, my sister ran forward and shook Ford's hand all over again!  Then the the officials herded a knot of us away from the president so the line could move along.  I still had the president's sweat dripping from my hand.  

The next thing I remember is the presidential motorcade headed north up Route 13, headed for Manchester, I presume.  Not 13 years after Kennedy, Ford was riding in an open car saluting us all with vigorous waves as they drove him up the hill, around the corner, and out of sight.

It is all sense memory.  I knew nothing of current events in my child's world.  No political bias tainted the purity of the experience.  That's how the memory solidified.  It is still separate from the opinions I developed about President Ford, Watergate, Nixon, the CIA, and everything else.  

The wide-eyed excitement of the day President Ford visited our town has  been locked away all these years.  I remembered it when he would show up on TV.  I used to crack jokes, "Of all the presidents to meet, figures I'd meet Ford!"  Yet when I saw the news of Ford's death just a few hours ago, that solidified sense memory struck me all of a sudden.  Like a wave crashing on shore, I was back there in NH, six years old, shaking Gerald Ford's hand, and as quickly as the surf recedes, the sense memory was gone.  No analysis, no thoughts of politics, just that mind-bending awe rushing over me again for an instant.  The commentators were chattering about Gerald R. Ford, 1913-2006, all these clowns I didn't like, Chris Matthews, Chris Wallace, Alexander Haig, and I started thinking how I hated what Ford did, and what became of the Republican Party...but then I thought, "Hey, wait a minute, what just happened to me?"
???

All the other presidents are abstractions to me...Ford was the one I knew for sure to be flesh and blood, and that was more "real" to me than I understood!

R.I.P. President Ford :(

Oh dear...another former prez has checked out. :o

93 years old...he lived a good long life. Reagan also died at age 93, but I think Ford beat him out by a month. So G.R.F. now holds the record for U.S. President with the longest life span (93 years, 5 months).

Another sad occasion the annals of US politics.

R.I.P.

We have to say goodbye to another U.S. President... you will be missed, President Ford... :(

One of my work buddies (who is now in his 70's) once slammed his car into Gerald Ford's limousine back when he was "Representative Ford".  :o

My buddy said that Ford was gracious and made sure that everybody else was OK after the wreck.  :)

RIP Mr. President.  :)

The only person who was V.P. & Pres without ever being voted in to either office. The only thing he really did was pardon Tricky Dicky. I really can't say that I am surprised to hear the news. He has had maga-health problems for a while now.  He did seem like a very nice person and will be missed.



Cat

The only one I've ever met.

I was all of six years old.  The main square of our little New Hampshire town was mobbed.  I'd never seen such a big crowd, so many people in one place.  I had never seen so many gigant cars and big, tall men in black suits and dark glasses.  I didn't know what their purpose was.  They seemed to move and stand still at the same time, and stare at all and no one.  I had seen pictures of helicoptors, but here they were very real, hovering with awesome noise.  There were flags, streamers, placards, red white and blue everywhere.  A brass band played a march, Sousa most likely, but it just sounded like a giant heart going thud thud thud to me!  Sensory overload.  More than my mind could absorb.  

I wasn't aware I was in line to shake the president's hand until I was next in line.  There he was, the leader of the free world in the flesh.  I didn't understand who the president was, just that he was the most important man in our country.  It was all of five seconds but time had no measure at that moment.  My sister ran right for Mr. Ford.  His eyes twinkled and he grinned at my sister's pluck.  I stepped forward gingerly.  The president radiated sheer power, he seemed "bigger than life," as the cliche goes.  I thrust out my tiny hand and for a sliver of an instant it was buried a massive, sweaty mitt with crushing force, then I was back with my mother.  Folks were chuckling.  As I darted back, my sister ran forward and shook Ford's hand all over again!  Then the the officials herded a knot of us away from the president so the line could move along.  I still had the president's sweat dripping from my hand.  

The next thing I remember is the presidential motorcade headed north up Route 13, headed for Manchester, I presume.  Not 13 years after Kennedy, Ford was riding in an open car saluting us all with vigorous waves as they drove him up the hill, around the corner, and out of sight.

It is all sense memory.  I knew nothing of current events in my child's world.  No political bias tainted the purity of the experience.  That's how the memory solidified.  It is still separate from the opinions I developed about President Ford, Watergate, Nixon, the CIA, and everything else.  

The wide-eyed excitement of the day President Ford visited our town has  been locked away all these years.  I remembered it when he would show up on TV.  I used to crack jokes, "Of all the presidents to meet, figures I'd meet Ford!"  Yet when I saw the news of Ford's death just a few hours ago, that solidified sense memory struck me all of a sudden.  Like a wave crashing on shore, I was back there in NH, six years old, shaking Gerald Ford's hand, and as quickly as the surf recedes, the sense memory was gone.  No analysis, no thoughts of politics, just that mind-bending awe rushing over me again for an instant.  The commentators were chattering about Gerald R. Ford, 1913-2006, all these clowns I didn't like, Chris Matthews, Chris Wallace, Alexander Haig, and I started thinking how I hated what Ford did, and what became of the Republican Party...but then I thought, "Hey, wait a minute, what just happened to me?"
???

All the other presidents are abstractions to me...Ford was the one I knew for sure to be flesh and blood, and that was more "real" to me than I understood!


That sounds really cool.

One of my work buddies (who is now in his 70's) once slammed his car into Gerald Ford's limousine back when he was "Representative Ford".   :o

My buddy said that Ford was gracious and made sure that everybody else was OK after the wreck.  :)

RIP Mr. President.   :)

That was the ironic thing about Ford.  He was accident prone.  The national joke was that he was a bumbling clutz, as Chevy Chase portrayed on SNL.  Yet, Ford was the big football hero for the U.Michigan Wolverines, and even turned down pro ball contracts from the Lions and the Packers because he insisted on law school instead!

Trivia: Gerald R. Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.  In common with Bill Clinton, his biological father was a nasty drunk.  According to Wikipedia, Ford was never officially adopted by his mother's second husband, Gerald Rudolff Ford, and did not change his name until 1935.

But why was he a bumbler as president after being a star athlete in college?  I don't know.  A lot can happen in 40 years.  Maybe all the football threw off his equilibrium a bit.  Then again, there are athletes who are clumsy in daily life, but perform magnificently in the field. 
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/dontknow.gif

Trivia: Gerald R. Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.  In common with Bill Clinton, his biological father was a nasty drunk.  According to Wikipedia, Ford was never officially adopted by his mother's second husband, Gerald Rudolff Ford, and did not change his name until 1935.


Really?? He didn't officially adopt his stepdad's name until age 22?

...The only thing he really did was pardon Tricky Dicky...


Maybe he simply did not want history to say that he was Hard On Dick.

;D ;D

Maybe he simply did not want history to say that he was Hard On Dick.

;D ;D

Oh, that reminds me of the old joke...
What was the Fords' method of birth control.  She gives him a stick of chewing gum before bed.
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/15/tard.gif

Really?? He didn't officially adopt his stepdad's name until age 22?

According to Wikipedia.  Not always the most acurate source.  I'd check a real Ford bio before I'd make book on it.

The funny thing is, a guy from some podunk town in Idaho wrote to one of the cable news shows about the time Ford came to his town and shook everybody's hand in the crowd.  Then one of our local papers published this photo of Ford's visit to Springfield.
http://www.masslive.com/images/hp/332/122706ford_local_332.jpg

Boy, is that era over.  After the attempt on Reagan, security measures isolated the president much more.  There's nothing spontaneous.  If you ever see Dubya glad-handing the folks, you can be sure every indivudal was pre-screened and the whole thing was a staged photo-op.  It's not just because Dubya is the most hated president since Nixon, more because that's how our culture has changed in the past three decades.  I mentioned Ford in an open car motorcade driving through my town.  Not even the assassination of JFK put a stop to that practice.  It took a much greater cultural shift.

That was the ironic thing about Ford.  He was accident prone.  The national joke was that he was a bumbling clutz, as Chevy Chase portrayed on SNL.  Yet, Ford was the big football hero for the U.Michigan Wolverines, and even turned down pro ball contracts from the Lions and the Packers because he insisted on law school instead!

Trivia: Gerald R. Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.  In common with Bill Clinton, his biological father was a nasty drunk.  According to Wikipedia, Ford was never officially adopted by his mother's second husband, Gerald Rudolff Ford, and did not change his name until 1935.

But why was he a bumbler as president after being a star athlete in college?  I don't know.  A lot can happen in 40 years.  Maybe all the football threw off his equilibrium a bit.  Then again, there are athletes who are clumsy in daily life, but perform magnificently in the field. 
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/dontknow.gif
It was my understanding he had some permanent injuries from his years playing football.

Maybe he simply did not want history to say that he was Hard On Dick.

;D ;D



BAD! BAD!!  :D ;D ;D ;D




Cat

I was just listening to a news report about President Ford, and his children were with him when he died, and he even held on until after Christmas, so as not to ruin their holiday.  That's selfless.  He could have been in pain or suffering and he chose to give his family one last Christmas with him. 

It was my understanding he had some permanent injuries from his years playing football.

I hadn't read anything specifically, but it wouldn't surprise me.  Ever seen the gear they wore in the 1930s?  Compare that with the injury diagnostics they had in those days, and a lot of serious injuries could get misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all.  Back then the medical applications of x-rays were barely conceived, and MRIs and PET scans were  half a century in the future.  Damage to nerves and brain tissue was poorly understood back then.


I was just listening to a news report about President Ford, and his children were with him when he died, and he even held on until after Christmas, so as not to ruin their holiday.  That's selfless.  He could have been in pain or suffering and he chose to give his family one last Christmas with him. 

Not sure how cognizant Ford was moment to moment in his last days, or if he could have willed himself to hang on to life for another 48 hours.  I can't say it's impossible.


My grandfather lived to be 100.  He died nearly one year ago.  His short-term memory was deteriorating in the last couple of years and he was easily confused.  He still knew who we all were.  I didn't get to visit him in the hospital where he died.  My aunt said he asked about me in the morning.  He was fading fast.  "M...ma...mac...Max, how Max?  How is Max?," he managed to ask with labored breath.  I hoped she didn't tell him the truth only because last January was a terrible month for me.  I couldn't control my grandfather dying.  That wasn't the issue.  It was a bunch of things I could control but went to pieces anyway.  Later that afternoon, he requested his portable Go* board and instructed my aunt to set up a match.  He couldn not really play in his final hours, but he just wanted to move the stones on the board one last time.  His breath become more labored.  He said he was sleepy.  My aunt kissed him on the forehead and the nurses escorted her out.  Grandpa died in his sleep two hours later.  The certificate listed the cause as "congestive heart failure."  I like to say he died of being 100 years old.

What does this have to do with Ford?  I guess only that when a family member has been old and sick for a long time, that relative's death brings relief.  He or she is not suffering anymore.  Of course it is still sad and the family does grieve.  However, it doesn't precipitate the kind of shock and dismay you get if a loved one is struck down by a sudden heart attack or something.  So Ford's family may be grateful he is free from his suffering a the same time as they grieve. 

*The Japanese boardgame.  My grandfather was an avid player for 30 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_%28board_game%29

The only thing he really did was pardon Tricky Dicky.

Oh, how wrong you are Cat.

President Ford was also the man who allowed women to enter the US Military Acadamies.  He passed that by executive order in 1976, which allowed the first women to graduate from Anapolis, West Point, and Colorado Springs in 1980.

He also appointed one of the first women to the Cabinet (if not the first), Carla Anderson Hills.

He also signed an Executive Order, forbidding the use of Assassination of Government leaders as a part of "state craft".

He also refused to send troups to Viet Nam, even though the South Vietnamese Government was begging and screaming for them.  This allowed the conflict to end, and not draw it out for another 10 years.

In 1975, he conducted what was known as the "Halloween Massacre", evicting almost every member of the old Nixon Cabinet.  About the only remainder was Dr. Kissinger.

In foreign policy, he continued the moves to normalize relations with China.  He also concluded the SALT talks, which concluded with him signing the new Arms Limitation treaty with Leonid Brezhnev.  He also started the SALT II talks, which were concluded by President Carter.

And for our Northern Neighbors, it was President Ford that pushed for the inclusion of Canada in the G7 (which was then known as the G5, Italy was a strong opponant to this inclusion).

And that does not even begin to touch on his achievements as a member of Congress.

Of all the presidents during my lifetime, the 2 I think on with the greatest fondness will always be Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.  And now one of them is gone.

I pray we still have President Carter for many years to come.  I may not always agree with him, but I have always respected the man.  Just like I have always respected President Ford.

He will be missed by me.