You can say what you want about Barbara Bush, but putting politics aside, we can all agree that she brought honor and dignity to her position as First Lady of the United States during her husband’s time in office. Even in her death, there was dignity. And, as news of former First Lady Barbara Bush’s passing spread, the tributes began pouring in from around the world.
Some were perfunctory from world leaders expressing condolences to the United States over the death of a beloved public figure. Others were three-kleenex, heart-wrenching tributes by family members (Jenna Bush Hager’s letter to her Ganny, anyone?). But perhaps the most interesting and intriguing is the one published by Jonathan Wackrow on CNN.com this morning.
Wackrow recounts two encounters with Mrs. Bush from his time on the Presidential Protection Detail (PPD). The first, a run-in on the front lawn at the Bush home in Kennebunkport, Maine, “is only one of scores of examples my fellow agents could give of the genuine admiration and respect Barbara Bush showed to the people who protected her and her family — and her recognition of the sacrifices the agents made for the presidential security operation.”
In the second, traveling back to New York from New Jersey, the former First Lady requested the chance to stop before entering the Holland Tunnel, “as she wanted to thank all the police officers who, she said, ‘so warmly welcomed me to New Jersey.'”
Wackrow ends with this:
