Once in a life time...

I remember exactly what I was doing one year ago tonight when the breaking news hit, I was in my room folding laundry. The local news had recently finished and suddenly they broke in the national news to announce the death of President Ford. At that time I knew the next week would be memorable for me, but I have no idea what a lasting impact it would have. It was truly a once in a life time experience and one I will never forget. I often think I should write a book about it, and maybe some day I will. But today I am a just a bit sad. One year ago today we lost a great man. Personally I had only met him a few times, have a few brief conversations with him and helped out on his 90th birthday celebration. Yet he his death and the anniversary of it has hit me hard. He had given so much to West Michigan and to our nation, much more then I ever realized until his death, and in the end his death was his final gift. During the events in Grand Rapids we became a showplace to the entire world and the people of West Michigan not only put their best forward they surpassed everyone expectations! They showed the world what it means to be an American. I do not think that I have to words to describe the emotions I felt the first I witnessed this. During much of the time I was in a small room in the Amway hotel, but one of my duties was to staff the museum arrival ceremony. One of my responsibilities was getting the VIP guests from the hotel to the museum. Stepping on the bus was my first time out and seeing the crowds of people that had come out to pay their respects brought tears to my eyes – to the point that I had to stop delivering my instructions because I was crying. Walking through the crowds that night, seeing the individuals who waiting for hours in line, covering miles of roads, crossing three bridges, to pay their respects while President Ford was in repose was unlike any crowd I have ever seen before and will ever see again. It was just amazing, especially when we learned that over 60,000 people had gone though, we were planning on somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000. But West Michigan showed their true colors and exemplified patriotism. Just thinking about it brings back so many memories and emotions! Oh the stories I have! I don’t have a whole lot going on this weekend and I think I am going to watch the two days worth of news coverage I have taped. I have never sat down and watched it – I am sure many of you have seen more coverage then I have, yes we had the TV on in the office, but we were too busy to really watch it. We lived it. Until this point I have not wanted to see it, but I am ready now, to watch this historic event that I had the amazing honor to be a part of.