Gerald Ford and James Brown die this week

My employers are such a grand group of gentlemen. Last Monday was Christmas, and Tomorrow (Friday) I will be diced and sliced in surgery to repair my stomach which is currently the home of two nasty hernias. So, my employer, out of infinite wisdom, decided that it was the perfect moment to send yours truly out of town for a few days.

The last three articles that have appeared on Political Pistachio were written on Christmas Day, and my wife posted them for me. She did a delightful job.

Now, on the eve of my surgery, I decided to do it differently. I have asked to be armed with a television and newspapers in my bed while I recover so that I can write my articles for my blogs daily, and my wife has kindly voluteered to enter them and post them for me.

Is she a great better half or what?

And I do emphasize the better half part.

Lefties? Don't get excited. That was not a statement for feminism. In the real world, a husband and wife compliment each other, and do it gladly. We are two halves of a whole. That is what makes a marriage last 22 years.

Anyhow, now that I am back from somewhere north of LA, I wanted to touch on a couple things that happened while I was out of town.

Gerald Ford, the nation's 38th president, the only president never to be elected to office, died at the age of 93 on Tuesday, December 26, 2006.

He may have been many things as president, good and bad, but I will remember him as a man of class.

When Carter narrowly defeated Ford for the presidency in 1976, Ford did not accuse Florida's ballots of being incorrect because of a bunch of chads, or refuse to concede until every last vote was counted. He conceded with dignity, congratulating the incoming president with class and honor.

Ford did not ask to become president. He was just filling in. In fact, I suppose you could say that Ford was an accidental president. He began as a congressman, appointed after 25 years in Congress to vice president in 1973 after Spiro Agnew left amid scandal. Ford was hand-picked by Nixon, which was fitting since he also became Nixon's replacement after Nixon resigned due to Watergate.

Gerald Ford was a man that believed in his nation, and believed in God. When he took office, he said, "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me with your prayers."

Imagine someone saying that in today's politically correct world.

Ford shortly after granted Nixon a pardon for all alleged crimes he committed as president. Some believe it is that decision that led to his eventual defeat in the 1976 election.

The fall of Saigon occurred during his presidency in April of 1975, signalling the end of the Vietnam War. His speech following that event included words from Lincoln saying, "America can now look forward to an agenda for the future, to unify, to bind up the nation's wounds."

He was an open man, plain and honest. Even after two attempts on his life by would-be assassins, he remained that way.

A graduate of Michigan University and a star football player, few envisioned young Jerry Ford to be a future president of the United States.

Ford also served on the Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy.

The most notible occurrence during his presidency, aside from pardoning Nixon and the end of the Vietnam War happened May 12, 1975 when Cambodia seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters. Ford acted quickly, utilizing U.S. forces to raid a Cambodian island and recapture the vessel. Cambodia released all crew members shortly after. 40 U.S. servicemen were killed during the effort.

In 1978, after his wife's bout with alcoholism, the Betty Ford Center was founded.

President Ford will be most remembered for taking on the presidency at a volatile time, keeping the country on course. As Ford's former chief-of-staff once said, "President Ford had to bring our country back and make it whole again and he did it with dignity, he did it with great, great skill and sensitivity."

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A billboard sign advertising James Brown coming to the Harrah's Casino in San Diego still stands along the interstate in Southern California. I saw it today as I drove my big-rig home from north of Los Angeles. It was haunting, seeing his image on that sign, on his knees, microphone held inverted to his wailing lips.

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, passed on the day prior to Ford's death, on Christmas Day. He was 73.

Mudkitty once compared my work ethic to that of James Brown's, and I never thanked her for that compliment. James Brown was definitely the hardest working man in show business. He was known for his elastic dance moves, and all-out performances. He was, literally, an impossible act to follow.

According to an article at CNN.com I read, The Rolling Stones were heard to remark that they were terrified to come on after Brown in a 1964 concert.

He created funk in the 1960's that today lives on, with grooves sampled by pop artists, rappers and hip-hop artists.

His legacy lives on, and those of us old enough, or fortunate enough to see him perform, will never forget how he closed his performances. James Brown would fall to his knees, wailing into the microphone, become covered with a cape, be led almost completely off stage, still singing quietly, and then rise again to return to the center of the stage, bringing the crowd screaming to its feet. That type of closing suggested nothing less than a hard work ethic, and love for the fans.

As I am sure James Brown hoped for, he will live on forever in our hearts.