George H.W. Bush died as we all do

George H.W. Bush takes oath of office (Wikimedia Commons)

I have a Hallmark Christmas romance on TV as I write this, today, December 1. Yes we're on the home stretch toward Christmas now, consumed with warmth of the season hopefully.
I awoke this morning to news of George H.W. Bush's death. Very sad and I feel sympathy. There were other thoughts dancing in my head too. "My goodness, the news media are going to be saturated now for several days with reflections on the late President. The 'read my lips, new new taxes' president."
George H.W. Bush handled the office of president in a way that today's self-identifying conservatives would frown upon. Yet those very people, led by the cheerleaders with pom-poms on Fox News, will fawn over the deceased Mr. Bush unendingly.
I'm reminded of how conservatives today are quite willing to fawn over the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. also. Haven't they forgotten? The conservatives of the 1960s largely saw the Reverend as subversive, maybe not because they were racists (although many were) but MLK was early in calling out the Vietnam war for what it was. Glenn Beck has gushed over the memory of MLK. The tenor of his comments would have been quite different when the Reverend was alive.
I watched cable news long enough this morning to hear that Donald Trump will be invited to the funeral. Amazing: Trump suggested during the debates that George W. Bush, the late president's son, be held responsible for 9/11. "9/11 happened on his watch," Trump blared. So now the current president will be at the funeral, which leads me to assume he'll be allowed to speak. The speech will likely be written by someone else in a calculated way to try to elevate Trump's reputation at present, which I suggest would require something akin to a miracle.
The sooner we can be ushered to an end to this Trump presidency, the better. I don't want to see this funeral become a platform for Trump to keep his stock up. How redundant all the scandal-type news is becoming. I switched away from cable news this morning, seeking to find relief anywhere, even watching Dan Barreiro on Channel 9, from the cascading news coverage of George H.W. Bush's death. It's 9:30 a.m. now and he's still dead - where's the "news?"
George H.W. Bush was my mom's age. We lost Mom in April after she had dodged serious health bullets over a long time. Certainly the former president had state of the art, vigilant medical care at all times. Despite the genius of our top medical professionals today, guess what? He died. I love people in hospice because they acknowledge a simple reality that is probably uncomfortable for people in medicine. That reality is that all of us die, 100 percent of us.
I have recommended the movie "Lucky," starring Harry Dean Stanton, for professionals in hospice because it illuminates the world in which they live. At one point the doctor tells the lead character: "I don't know of anyone who has lived forever. Eventually the body breaks down."
The lead character had just experienced a fall for reasons that weren't totally clear. Falls! What a menace for older Americans. God created us to face vulnerabilities that inevitably get worse as we get older. Medicine is dedicated to curing people's ills and isn't that a blessing? But death cannot be denied forever.
We hear the term "palliative care" for people in nursing homes. I guess it's a way of guiding people toward death in an optimally comfortable way. We read in the Star Tribune about how complaints against nursing homes need better follow-up. There is this clarion call against "elder abuse" and of course no one condones abuse. But very old people can fall into a gray area where an absolutely perfect lifestyle cannot be guaranteed for them. I am not one to get on the bandwagon for more vigorous regulations of nursing homes. All I really ask of a nursing home is that 1) they are adequately staffed and 2) they show a loving attitude toward all.
People die and they sometimes die in a way where we might second-guess caregiving decisions. You reach your mid-90s and there is so much that can go wrong. Hospice seeks to ensure the process is gentle as possible. But we all die. God bless Knute Nelson Hospice which served our family. They will always be my family.
George H.W. Bush RIP.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com