I'm Stumped

Dear Boo and Bubble,

Before I get into Captain's own political career and Dick Riley's influence on it, I want to share with you a little side story. I had totally forgotten about it until the other day when I began composing this series of blog posts for you. Funny..... how stream of consciousness works.

When Dick Riley announced in 1978 that he would seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of South Carolina, he was a state senator representing Greenville. Your mother was not quite three years old and Aunt Bee might have been discussed, but she was just a thought and wouldn't get here until the summer of 1979. His candidacy was a very long shot as he started with only 3% of the vote in early polling. Captain and I had just bought our first home at 126 Brittany Road in Gaffney, SC, and we were in that 3%.

Great granddaddy Schaefer was very involved in the campaign over in Greenville and he asked if we might help out with the effort in Cherokee County since Gaffney was the county seat. We agreed, of course, and decided one of the ways we could help would be to host a party for Dick's wife, Ann, who was known to all as "Tunky." (I have no idea the origin of the nickname nor it's meaning, but she wore it well and with great dignity.) This would give some of the prominent women in the community the opportunity to talk with her one-on-one in a relaxed atmosphere. We were operating on the premise that the measure of a man rests solely in the selection of his wife, and - because of that - Tunky would convince everyone that Dick Riley was not only a credible and viable gubernatorial candidate, he was the best choice.

I scheduled our party with the campaign about six weeks ahead of time. This gave me ample chance to prepare my invitation list and prepare all the details of the event itself. Even though I might have been peripherally concerned about the weather on the day of the party, it never crossed my mind that Mother Nature would decide to challenge me in the lead up. A month before, she sent forth a storm so powerful across our county that it knocked a huge tree over in our front yard and pivoted it onto the roof at the front of our house. Fortunately, the damage to the roof was minimal, but the tree's trunk and branches completely covered the front porch and door to the extent that we couldn't get in or out that way.

Captain inquired around town for a tree service that might be able to help cut the tree away from the house. There were several that had good reputations and he contacted one to come give us an estimate for the job. They arrived in short order, thank goodness, and cut the tree from the roof into sections and hauled it off. However, they informed me that they did not grind stumps.....I would have to find someone else to do that. I asked for suggestions and they gave me one. As they drove away with a very substantial stash of wood from my front yard, a rather significant stump remained as a shrine to what was once there.

I called the stump guy the very next day. He told me it would be "a while" before he could get to me because of the recent storm, but he reassured me he could have the job done by the date of the party.

One week went by.......two weeks went by.....three weeks went by. Even though I called and he said he'd be there.....no stump guy. I decided I better focus on a backup plan in case he didn't show up before the party, so I went to Painter Greenhouses just up the road from our house and bought some geraniums, marigolds and petunias. I came back and dug a flower bed around the stump. Standing back, I admired my work.......the flowers were beautiful....the stump..... well, it was still an ugly stump.

With time running out, I wracked my brain for some idea on making my yard presentable. Ahhhhhh.....what's that old saying...."Turn a sow's ear into a purse?" The solution proved to be simple. I went to the drugstore and purchased some poster board and magic markers. On the eve of the party, I found myself on our den floor making signs that said "We're Stumping for Riley!" Captain found a flat strip of wood and I glued the signs back-to-back on it. The next morning, before leaving for work, he helped me secure the signs into the middle of the stump.

I stood back to admire the handiwork. All things considered......it was pretty cool.

The rest of the day, I sequenced my time in preparing the refreshments and arranging flowers so that the last hour could be allotted for getting myself ready. Tunky was to arrive around 3:30 for the party at 4:00. Everything went as scheduled, maybe a little ahead of......until about 3:15, when I walked down the hall from our bedroom to the living area of the house and happened to catch sight from one of the front windows of a man standing in our yard, scratching his head, chainsaw in hand, looking at the stump. At first, it didn't register who it could be until I saw his truck - C&W Tree and Stump Grinding Services!

I started running and just about broke my neck when my brand new high heel pumps skidded on the floor as I rounded the corner into the entrance hall at the front door. Flinging it open, I yelled "Wait!!! Stop!! You can't do that now!"

He looked back at me dumbfounded.

"But, I thought you needed the stump out real quick."

"Yeah, well, maybe quick three weeks ago.....but not today. I have a party starting in thirty minutes. You're just going to have to come back."

As if recoiling from a raving banshee, he retreated from the stump.

"I'm not sure when that will be, lady."

"That doesn't matter anymore," I said. "You can do it whenever."

He threw his chainsaw into the truck and backed out of the driveway. As he made his way down Brittany Road, he unsuspectingly passed the future next first lady for the state of South Carolina coming in the other direction to our house. The party was a success and contributed to a grass roots effort on behalf of Dick Riley. After the initial primary vote, he ended up in a run-off with then Lt. Governor for South Carolina, Brantley Harvey. He ultimately prevailed as the Democratic nominee and went on to be elected Governor in November of that year. The 3% had swelled to a majority of the voters.

At some point later on, the man came back to grind the stump out of the yard. I often wondered what his take on the situation might have been and if he ever realized how close he came to destroying Dick Riley's stump.

The Student Schools the Teacher

Dear Boo and Bubble,

Yesterday, Captain and I drove over to Asheville to attend the annual meeting of the 11th District for the North Carolina Democratic Party. The area for this district covers 17 counties in the northwestern

part of the state. We represented Avery County, touted as "the most Republican county in the whole of the United States." I can't attest to the voracity of that statement, but I can tell you that the "pickins" for Democrats up here in these mountains are mighty slim.

What's the point then, you might ask. Well, aside from the fact that involvement by all sincerely motivated people in our system of politics is critical to the well-being of our communities, states and nation, Captain and I both have a history in such matters. Our parents and grandparents were the main influences (see November 24, 2012 - "A Steel Magnolia in the Family" and March 27, 2013 - "Evolution" and November 20, 2013 - "The Swoon Factor."), but others outside of the family also contributed to both our interest and involvement in politics.

One of the foremost examples of such a person first appeared on our persuasive landscape as a student in Great Granddaddy Schaefer's Business Law Class at Furman University in 1952. It was a Presidential election year and the contest presented a choice between the Republican nominee, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Democrat Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. Under any other circumstances, Stevenson would have been a very formidable candidate. Having served as the Governor of Illinois, he was noted for his intellectual demeanor and substantial skill in public speaking. But, the United States was only seven years out from the end of World War II and Eisenhower had become a national hero because of his military service. He was a five-star general in the United States Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. In that capacity, he had responsibility for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in 1942–43, and the successful invasion of Germany and liberation of France in 1944–45. By the time of the election, he had become the first supreme commander of NATO.

Needless to say, most of the country - with the exception of diehard Democrats - swooned at the thought of Eisenhower becoming President. As a combat veteran, Granddaddy Schaefer had no immunity from the sentiment and found himself caught up in the wave of nostalgia ----- so much so that one morning in class, he waxed eloquent for almost the whole period about the virtues of Eisenhower.

Just before the bell the class ended, a student raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Riley," Granddaddy recognized him.

"Professor Kendrick, I'm confused. I thought this was a class in Business Law."

"Well, it certainly is," Granddaddy answered, a little annoyed.

"I'm glad to know that. This morning I would have sworn I'd found myself in a very bad Political Science class."

Even though taken aback, Granddaddy realized very quickly the point that Mr. Riley was making. He had spent the whole time on an unrelated topic, espousing his own views, and not teaching what he was hired to teach. He also figured out that Mr. Riley must be supporting Adlai Stevenson.

"Well, Mr. Riley. I apologize. And, I would like to make you an offer. At our next class meeting, you may take as much time as you'd like to talk about the Democratic candidate for President."

It took a lot of guts, but without batting an eye, Granddaddy's 20-year-old Business Law student grabbed up the offer.

That student was Richard W. Riley who later joined Granddaddy on the bi-racial committee to oversee the integration of the Greenville County School system in 1969. He served Greenville County in the S.C. House of Representatives from 1963 - 66 and in the S.C. Senate from 1967 - 77. In 1979, he became the state's 111th Governor and the first to be re-elected to a second term. President Bill Clinton appointed Riley to his cabinet in 1993 as the Secretary of Education, a position he held for eight years. Improving public education was Dick Riley's passion and he worked tirelessly towards that goal while both Governor and Secretary of Education. 

 

At one point, Clinton approached him about serving on the Supreme Court, but Riley humbly refused the nomination reportedly saying that he was "just a country lawyer." Ruth Bader Ginsberg was appointed instead.

In his class that morning at Furman, Great Granddaddy Schaefer had a sneaking suspicion Mr. Riley might just amount to something someday. And, as it turned out, Granddaddy's instincts were correct. If ever there were an embodiment of the term "public servant," it would be Richard W. Riley.

(In my next post, I will share with you how Governor Riley directly impacted Captain as he ventured out into his own political career.)

A Good Soldier Never Forgets

Dear Boo and Bubble,

So much of The Bridge Project seems to focus on Granddaddy Schaefer's experiences and family; or my own life; or, of late, on Captain's heritage through the writings of Joseph Benson Cottrell. But, since tomorrow is Mother's Day, I'm going to deviate a little and brag on someone from Mamaw Mary's side of things.

Even though her family tree didn't have as many branches as Granddaddy's (that bloomed the likes of Mittie, Mattie, Ressie, Jessie, Annie Mae, Wade, Gene, Jamie and all of their offspring), Mamaw Mary's was equally strong. The occupiers of each limb have made, and still do, quite an impression on this world. Mamaw had one sister, Dorothy, with three children - Sandy, Beth and Jay. Growing up, I didn't get to see my Bethany (that was Mamaw's maiden name) cousins very often because they lived in Texas. Jay is no longer here, and until recently, it had been nine years since my last visit with Beth and Sandy in Dallas.

Sometime in a another post, I will share with you the amazing work of Beth and her husband Rodney. But today, I want to focus on Sandy because I find that what he is doing is so noteworthy and unique, it needs to be shared. It certainly reflects the values of compassion for and care of one's fellow man that Mamaw held so dear.

Let me give you a little background. Sandy was raised in West Columbia, Texas, and returned there after a career in the Army to follow in his father's footsteps and open a hardware store. While in the military, Sandy rose to the distinguished rank of Colonel. His service to our country included two tours of duty as a helicopter pilot in the Viet Nam war.

It would be perfectly permissible and understandable for someone like Sandy to retire in peace and leave the memories of war behind - to vacate the arena altogether and focus on his family and personal pursuits. But, he chose instead to never forget the sacrifices that are made by our servicemen and their families. When I last saw Sandy back in Dallas, he was the current president of his American Legion post. He talked about how after 9/11, he became aware of the compensation offered to the victims’ families in the tragedies of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. The benefit averaged $1.3 million. In his opinion, that was all well and good except that, at the time, the death benefit for a serviceperson killed in the line of duty defending the country was only $12,500. He brought this discrepancy to the attention of his Post and they began barking up the chain of command for the national organization to lobby Congress for an increase. After a time, the effort met with some success. The death benefit increased to $100,000. But, that still wasn’t good enough. Sandy persuaded his post to take out life insurance policies of $250,000 on each service member living in their district for as long as that person remained on active duty.

Since then, Sandy has turned his focus to the condition of and recognition for our country's veterans.

He initiated a program within the Post where veterans in the community can request the installation of permanent tubes in their yards. On every Veterans' Day, Memorial Day and 4th of July, an American flag and the flag representing the veteran's branch of service are placed in the tubes so that people will know specifically who to thank with a salute as they pass by.

Recently, a nursing home facility in West Columbia closed and all of its patients were moved elsewhere. Not long after Sandy heard about it, he began the process of negotiating its purchase. With his own money, he bought the entire campus and is refurbishing it to establish a place for homeless veterans. He currently has two residents with availability for many more as the renovations continue.

When I learned all of this, my heart just simply swelled with pride.....and, I can only imagine how eternally proud Mamaw Mary must be that this branch of her family tree is doing all he can to make this world a better place for others.