Obit: Betty Ford (1918-2011)

Subject: Obit: Betty Ford
From: Janie
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 10:46 PM

Betty Ford has died at age 93.

An interesting and courageous lady.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/08/betty-ford-dies-former-dead_n_893664.html

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 11:00 PM

Yes, very much so. And I admire her very brave announcements regarding her breast cancer and her substance abuse -- and that she did something about them.

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 11:41 PM

Yes, I just read this, and am saddened. I truly admired her since I was a kid, she was first lady the year we lived in the States.

One of my enduring memories of her (well, about her, really) is when she had gone public with her breast cancer - and that alone was a big deal at the time - and had the mastectomy. At the time, and it may have changed, they put you under for the biopsy, and if benign, woke you up, and if not, the did a full mastectomy before waking you up, so you went under not knowing. Meanwhile my mom and sisters and I discussed whether it was such a big deal that she'd gone public also.

We heard on the news that (a) the tumor was cancerous and (b) she hadn't woken up yet from the anesthetic.

My eldest sister looked at us and said, do you realize we know she's had her boob cut off, and she doesn't yet?

I remember being impressed, and later analysis makes me think something like, her willingness to put herself in that situation - to put the public's right to know above her actual and immediate *need* to know - showed her to be a great person, and later understanding of politics has extended that to she was a truly great First Lady.

And nothing from or about her since has caused me to revise that first impression.

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 11:44 PM

My wife gave me this news a few minutes ago. A classy lady was her opinion, first class. RIP

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford
From: catspaw49
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 01:48 AM

Great lady, first or otherwise. Should have been a democrat.....


Spaw

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford (1918-2011)
From: Bobert
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 10:44 AM

Heck of a lady...

And by today's standards would be a Democrat...

B~

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford (1918-2011)
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 05:00 PM

I assume you consider that a compliment, right Bobert?

DougR

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford (1918-2011)
From: pdq
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 08:59 PM

Her husband was also a fine person.

Gerald Ford was the closest thing to a nom-partisan president since Herbert Hoover.

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford (1918-2011)
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 09:13 PM

[sigh....] This post, of course, is from gargoyle. Garg, why do you keep making me ID your posts?

---

Folk Lore History


The Orange County H3 - has an annual (anal) weekend in Palm Springs.


In their early years OCHHH- set up kegs-0-beer - on the lawn in front of the "Betty Ford Rehab Center." Police chased them away.

They continue to honor Betty's name - with a celbration weekend - and the slogan, "Quitters are Losers." Skits, beer, costumes, music and fun. Many more Mudcatters would join ... if they only knew how....

So visit ....ochhh.com ... they sing better than most.

Subject: RE: Obit: Betty Ford (1918-2011)
From: Donuel
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 09:20 PM

As a first lady Betty is second only to Eleanor Roosevelt in having a direct effect on the people of the USA.
She brought an honesty to feminism.

One of my favorite photos is of Eleanor and Pete Segar together with some of our WW 2 servicemen.