Geek Habitat

When Ronald Reagan was sworn in for his first term as U.S. President in 1980, I was only six years old. By the time Reagan left office in 1988, I had become a teenager. Not surprisingly, the only indelible memories I have of his presidency are tied to signficant events that occurred during his tenure. The first two memories were my first lessons of man’s inhumanity to man — the assassination attempt in 1981 which injured the President and nearly killed Press Secretary James Brady, and the Iran hostage crisis — an event I only understood as significant because every tree, mailbox and car antenna wore a yellow ribbon for well over a year. Only now do I realize the hostages were held for over 440 days and were freed on Reagan’s inauguration day in 1980.

My final memory marker of Reagan’s presidency is one that hit closest to home, the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986. There are photos of launch observers, including astronaut family members, looking up at the launch just a second after it exploded, their faces still clearly expressing excitement and happiness with only a tinge of “Wait, something very bad has happened”. It was Reagan’s post-Challenger Presidential address that introduced me to the poignant poem “High Flight” by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.. It was enough to keep my childhood dreams of becoming an astronaunt alive for a few more years, including a wonderful stay at Space Camp in Alabama in 1988. (The realization that I really hated mathematics is what finally made my dreams truly fade away. Well, that and the thought that I’d actually have to move to and live in Houston, Texas.

Much more happened during Reagan’s eight years in office, of course, but from a child’s eyes it was encapsulated into a few small moments. My final memory of the Regan era is from 1987 or so, when the Iran-Contra scandal broke. I remember thinking how seriously screwed up government seemed to be, shuffling money and weapons around like a giant game of do-or-die Monopoly. Incidentally, I never lost that feeling… friend one decade, foe the next. Rinse, repeat.

Rest in Peace, Reagan. If I have a eulogy, it’s simply that I admire the dedication it must take to be President for 8 years, be married for 52 years, and live 93 years on Planet Earth. My admiration is also for the dedication shown by anyone, like Nancy Reagan, who has to watch for years as their spouse slowly fades away due to Alzheimer’s.