A tribute to Ronald and Nancy Reagan

A Patriot's Opinion

By Jim Snyder

A beautiful and classy lady went to be with her soul mate this past weekend when former first lady Nancy Reagan passed away. The Reagan’s love story was one for the ages. She said one time that her life didn’t really begin until she met Ronnie. In a 1998 interview she said, “Thank God we found each other.” She also said many times that she didn’t know what she would have ever done without him. Michael Reagan said after her passing, “Nancy is where she has always wanted to be, with her Ronnie...Now she is at peace”. Her husband was probably my favorite president in my lifetime and probably the greatest president in recent history.

There were so many moments in our history that these two were a part of. The Iran hostage crisis, Mr. Reagan’s famous “Tear down this wall” speech, and the assassination attempt on his life are just a few. Nancy was always by his side if for no other reason than just to support her man. When Mr. Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1994 she committed herself to being there throughout his illness and doing whatever she could to comfort him. But Mr. Reagan was just as compassionate towards her. In announcing his Alzheimer’s Mr. Reagan wrote, “I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience”. After his death, Mrs. Reagan showed so much love and compassion for her husband. I will never forget when Nancy Reagan walked up to her husband’s casket and bent over and kissed the American flag that was draped over it as a final farewell to her husband. I am not ashamed to admit that I broke down in tears at that moment. After his death, Mrs. Reagan made very few public appearances. But her love for her Ronnie never died. I heard that she made the comment shortly before her death that she was ready to be with him again. One of my favorite things that I loved about Ronald Reagan was his sense of humor. He had a natural ability to inject humor into his political life, too. He definitely delivered some zingers over the years. However his greatest quality in my mind was his speaking ability. He gained the nickname over the years as “the Great Communicator”, and he definitely was.

One of my favorite speeches he ever gave was his speech following the Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. While only four minutes and 48 seconds in length, it was classic Reagan. His farewell speech to the nation in 1988, the famous “Shining City on the Hill” speech, was another one. Those speeches were classic examples of what a true leader was. That was probably the greatest presidential speech of all time. If you never had the privilege of hearing those two speeches I would urge you to pull them up and listen to them. Whenever he spoke he talked to you as if he was in the room with you. And he made you comfortable in doing so. It was like having a conversation with your grandfather. I have made the comment many times over the years that when Ronald Reagan spoke he made me proud to be an American. He was probably the only politician I looked forward to hearing speak. Many people doubted his qualifications to serve as president saying things like “he was just an actor”. Well he was an actor for sure and he played the part of a world leader better than anyone else in the last century.

One of the last lines in his Challenger speech is so fitting right now. He said, “As they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye then slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.” Well, Nancy slipped the surly bonds of earth on March 6 to touch the face of God and now her and Ronnie’s beautiful love story is playing out in heaven. God Bless both of them as they ride their favorite horses into the sunset like they did so many times on earth.