I learned that President Reagan was shot while walking home from school. I was about a block away from my house and I remember running the whole way home.
I was too young to understand politics but I knew my parents hadn’t voted for him. I knew plenty of dinner-table conversations were about things he was doing that my parent’s didn’t like.
When I got to the house, my father was there.
“Dad! Dad! Reagan was shot! Did you hear? Isn’t that great?”
He looked at me and said “It is never a good thing that someone has attempted to kill the president of our country.”
That day I learned that no matter how much you dislike a person, “country over party” is more important.
Only recently did I realize how unusual it was for my father to be home when I arrived home from school. School let out around 3pm. He usually got home after 5pm. Now I realize that his employer must have sent everyone home.
Obviously being shot and getting a virus are different things, but…
Out of respect for the lesson that my father tried to teach me in 1981 I wish 45 a speedy recovery.
Today is a good day to donate, start volunteering, or otherwise get involved. Some ways you can volunteer:
- Biden: https://joebiden.com/take-action/
- Jaime Harrison: https://go.jaimeharrison.com/page/s/volunteer-sign-up
- Sara Gideon: https://gideon.bsd.net/page/s/volunteer
