WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY, JR. – RIP

Another giant gone from our midst!

I have read virtually every book written by WFB, both fiction and non-fiction. I was a faithful viewer of “Firing Line” and read National Review (with dictionary at hand) from the onset of its publication. Whenever the latest issue arrived, WFB’s column(s) were my first stop within its pages.

There are people who adorn our world with wit, wisdom and pure genius and William F. Buckley, Jr. was one of those. The conservative point of view benefited directly from WFB’s good works throughout his life. One of my favorites of his books is “Inveighing We Will Go” and I think I might wrestle it out of the box in which it is still packed and enjoy it again in his memory! On the other hand, a rollicking good read through one of his 11 Blackford Oakes spy novels might be a fitting epitaph too!

Rest in peace, good and faithful servant. You will be sorely missed.

MY MORMON EXPERIENCES

Here's what I know about Mormons, based solely on my own interactions with them over the years.

A friend with whom I worked at Carnation (now Nestle, U.S.A.) in Los Angeles didn't wish to believe there was caffeine in hot chocolate because he loved hot chocolate. I've known and worked with a number of Mormons and found them all to be forthright (except for that chocolate addiction thingie), moral, cleancut, straightforward and generally, the "salt of the earth" despite their various differences from a Catholic like me.

I learned that you NEVER help a Mormon move. They believe in setting by a store of food to last for many months - so there's one horrendous amount of pantry and often many, many pounds of wheat to make their own bread.

I know that Mormons believe in community in the sense that beyond physical location, a Mormon in trouble or economic turmoil can absolutely count on the assistance of other Mormons to get them through a crisis.

Unlike Scientologists (I encountered way more than my share when I lived in L.A.), the vast majority of Mormons are pretty honest in business, generally quite moral in their lifestyle, and pretty good friends to have. All my Mormon friends are kind, funny and not nearly as boring as Mitt seems to be. They are, in overwhelming percentages, hard working, generous and dependable.

Ignorance is the great impediment to understanding one another - and unfortunately for understanding in this instance, many Americans base all they know about Mormons on The Osmond family!

For those of you who happen to live in Columbus, Ohio - there's a Mormon attorney who drives as though his tailfeathers are on fire! He is, despite that, a good and ethical guy in all other respects. But seriously Theran - Mountain Dew DOES have lots of caffeine.

So would I vote for a Mormon? That depends on the Mormon. I don't choose my favored candidate based on religion, skin color, ethnicity, or gender - I choose my favored candidates based on character, belief system and strength of their dedication to this country's survival.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THIRD WAVE DAVE!

There is a shortage of good guys out there - Dave is one of them and he is cherished by all of his blogging friends for that reason. He has been an inspiration to me on more than one occasion and were it not for him, blogging wouldn't be nearly as much fun for any of us!

Hope the next 52 will be as productive as the first, with twice the joy!