I can only echo the many eloquent expressions of loss, grief, and deep admiration that precede mine.  William F. Buckley was a man for the ages.  How fortunate we have been to be his contemporaries.  I have listened to him in rapt amazement countless times on Firing Line and several lectures in person, read his books and devoured National Review for half a century but one brief face-to-face encounter at a thank-you reception for workers in his brother Jim's senatorial campaign comes to mind with a smile.  I offered the view that Ronald Reagan's critics invariably groused that he owed his political success to his acting background or they belittled him as a B-actor.  It seemed to me they couldn't have it both ways, the presidency of the United States being the hardest job in the world to attain.  Mr. Buckley's quick answer:  Did you hear his response when someone told him Bedtime for Bonzo was to be on TV that night - "I think I'll ask for equal time."  Can't you just hear the hearty laughter of these two great friends?
Helen Wildermuth, East Lyme, Connecticut