So Long, Friend
Gstaad.....March 6, 2008
What can I say about Bill Buckley that hasn't been said.....better and/or more elequently?
So this becomes my junior high school term paper: What William F. Buckley, Jr. Meant to Me.
I have known him since I was about 7 years old....A very long time before he knew me. I was
so fascinated with this strange and wonderful creature on my TV set....His words, his voice,
his mannerisms....All so wonderful. I wondered, not just then but pretty much all these years,
"How did he GET that accent? Did the rest of his family speak like that? Did he speak like
that when he was a kid?; I mean when he was 7? I knew then, that I had to watch all and
any program on which this wonderful man would appear. The way he pronounced "Deim Bien
PHUUUUU", is still with me.
As I grew older, I realized that there was almost nothing about which we agreed and it didn't
matter because whatever he had to say was original and interesting. That I might ever have
the opportunity to actually meet him, was the farthest thing from my mind.
Then in 1995, I saw an ad in an issue of National Review, for a cruise on which would be several people with whom I'd love to mix it up; like Ralph Reed on abortion rights and Judge Robert Bork; also on abortion rights. But never did I plan to try to engage Mr. Buckley in a debate....more out of respect than intimidation. But what has happened over the past 13 years, is that I have become great friends with the National Review "Gang" and that included the Buckleys. And when I have had private time with them, we never got within arm's length of a political discussion. There always seemed to be more fun and interesting things to speak about.
I loved runing into Bill in the village of Gstaad, where we both had long histories. I visited with him and Pat, once, in their chalet and he was in my home for a National Review fundraiser. He sent me one of his more personal books and inside was a letter in which he called me a friend. That meant so much to me. This great treasure of a man called me his friend. Though I think of myself more as a fan, I will always be warmed by that letter; as well as my personal interactions with him and his signs of approval at something I said or did in his presence. I affectionatelly called him "The Buckmeister". One of those holdovers from the 70's. I like to think he didn't mind.
He used his intelligence to educate, never to intimidate. It really does not matter to me what his
political opinions were. The way he expressed them, as well as opinions on other subjects, was like listening to Pavarotti sing. The world beame a black hole for me, when we lost the great Pavarotti and now Bill Buckley....I wrote to him at Christmas; words of encouragement...He wrote back, a short but deeply touching note. I had no idea he was so ill, and now he's gone. But like Pavarotti, we have his art, well recorded, to enjoy and to treasure. It helps, me, at least, get through the pain.
Cat Jagger Pollon
03/06 08:58 AM
