Ronald Wilson Reagan , the 40th president of the United States, died Saturday at his home in California. He was 93 years old and had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

"He always told us that for America the best is yet to come," Bush said of Reagan. "We comfort ourselves by telling ourselves that the same is true for him. ... We know a shining city is waiting for him."

As a tribute to Reagan's legacy, Congress and President Bill Clinton officially changed the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in February 1998. And in 2003, former First Lady Nancy Reagan was on hand to christen the USS Ronald Reagan, the Navy's newest nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

But perhaps the image of Reagan that will be remembered most was his ability to unite the nation under the strength of his convictions, such as when he spoke to all Americans, and
specifically schoolchildren, in the wake of the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger:

"It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons," he said. "The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them."

When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future," Reagan wrote at the time. "I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."

Mr. President, you always made

Our Day!

In Memoriam

Sixteen Minutes
By Bob Perks
     

           
They were just sixteen minutes
from home, these earth born creations
of God, when suddenly His hands
stretched out to catch them in their
unexpected free fall.
 

 
They were among the few in the
history of man, who climbed high enough
into the sky to see God's
heavenly work firsthand.  

Sixteen minutes from home after
sixteen days nearer to heaven than
you and I will ever be in our
lifetime and we all cried, "No, not
again."  
 

Seven men and women whose dreams
brought them to the edge of space and
beyond.  Seven people whose
paths crisscrossed until time, fate
and circumstance joined them
together as a team of explorers for the
good of us all.

This sixteen day mission was
dedicated to research in physical, life,
and space sciences, conducted in
approximately eighty separate
experiments, comprised of
hundreds of samples and tests. The seven
astronauts worked twenty-four
hours a day, in two alternating
shifts. Just sixteen minutes away from
the loving arms of family and friends.
     

    
Sixteen minutes away from a
dream gone full circle.  
Just sixteen minutes more and
they would have returned safely to earth.

Now seven families grieve for
the loss of seven people who were
just sixteen minutes away from
home.
 

Sixteen minutes never meant that
much to me before.  I always saw my
life in years and dreamed in
numbers much larger than sixteen.   
Now, suddenly I see the value in
small numbers.

After "sixteen" days "seven"
died just "sixteen" minutes from home
and the world as "one" mourned
the loss.
 

Next time someone asks, "Do you
have a minute?" give it to them.  It
might mean the world to them.
 

Bob Perks

Bob@BobPerks.com
 

WHOEVER WROTE THIS SHOULD STEP FORWARD AND CLAIM THIS POEM.
THE WORDS ARE VERY POWERFUL:

 TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN
(2001-911)

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Three thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, lets chat."

They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."

Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."

From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear...
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."

"Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores.

A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus
that day.

"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not."

The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "Don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see,
You died for freedom, just like me"

Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they must ..

Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell, but not alone
"Look! Black-man, White-man, Brown-man, Yellow-man
Side by side helping their fellow man!"

So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44.

The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear."

"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.

All of those people, even those who've never met you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.

With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he led
three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to Heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven

Author UNKNOWN

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