LUCKY ME

I'm happy that I had the privilege of living during the time of Walter Cronkite, Bob Hope, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mickey Rooney, Esther Williams and Reverend Billy Graham.

 I well remember the Sunday in December, 1941 when President Franklin Roosevelt announced in a voice of determined reason that Japanese planes had bombed the U.S. fleet in Hawaii. He told the people of our nation to unite in a common cause of work and sacrifice so that our freedom and way of life could be preserved. He said every man, woman and child would do their part to win the coming war, and they did. Our young men joined the military services in droves, and our women learned to use rivet guns.

President Harry Truman kept a sign on his desk that said, "The buck stops here." He lived his life by that motto. When his term ended, he packed Bess in their own car and drove to the house in Independence, MO that Bess inherited from her parents. Air Force 1 and the Secret Service were not required.

After the defeat of Germany in WWII, when the Nazi prison camps were inspected, five-star General Ike Eisenhower told the photographers to take pictures of every detail from every angle. He feared people in the future might say the atrocities never happened.

Walter Cronkite, the legendary news anchor for CBS 1962-1981, always signed off,  "And that's the way it was." With integrity and accuracy he reported the facts without self-aggrandizement. We could trust Cronkite.

Bob Hope's family never celebrated Christmas on December 25. Bob was always away entertaining the troops. He took the stage and the microphone and made them forget about pain and loss and death for a brief time. And he did it with no clanging, crashing band or almost-naked, screeching vocalists.

Mickey Rooney gave us wholesome movies with a moral message like Black Stallion, Boys Town, National Velvet and the Andy Hardy series. This pint-sized, giant box office star's career spanned 80 years. He made almost 20 movies -- none of them were X-rated.

Esther Williams, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's sycronized swimming star, taught us the artistry and skill of performing in water. The studio spent a fortune on creating an elaborate pool where her movies of grace and beauty were filmed. Her costumes were elegant, flattering one-piece swimsuits. She said she had no wish to appear in "two Dixie cups and fishing line."

The life of Rev. Billy Graham, an unwavering man of God, speaks for itself. No comment from me is necessary.

I'm grateful to have witnessed and been a part of the accomplishments of these members of the Greatest Generation.

QUOTE: It's the little things of life that determine the big things.