Jewells of Thought

There are different themes I found from the movie Reagan yesterday. It took sleeping overnight to marinate on the two-hour long biopic and some research this morning.

Two books came to mind this morning when I wanted to look inside Ronald Reagan’s life. Both are written by the same author, C. Brian Kelly, “The Best Little Stories of the White House” and “The Best Little Stories of World War II.” Unfortunately, even with his time in the Army there were none of his stories in this book. His eyesight was not very good, so that limited his serving abilities to domestic service. He would not be going overseas, but his ability to communicate was amazing and he would become a liaison and part of the 6th War Loan Drive. His star was a big part of his contribution to the war effort.

So when I saw that most of the stories would be from the White House the first one stood out to me. I read the First Ladies accounts before I got to the stories about Ronnie himself. Nancy, when she first met this larger than life man, instantly felt this connection with him. She said, “he became the center of her world.”

Up until this movie, I had a different take on this relationship based on knowing Ronald was first married to Jane Wyman. There is a movie I have talked about recently that is very special to me, “Three Guys Named Mike.” Besides this movie she was also in Pollyanna another family favorite that we watched when I was growing up. Hayley Mills was a staple in the Alsman movie collection too. Isn’t it funny or maybe weird that we can get so attached to the character a person portrays?

In this new film the character of Ms. Wyman went against what I believed her to be. Yet it was even reflected that she voted for Ronnie both times to be President that shows a growth of her in some way. I have really had some trouble with this idea though then I heard that Nancy was somewhat stern. She was very protective of her husband. I thought at first, that sounded rough or like a tough exterior for this second wife of Reagan. Finally watching this film brought it all into focus for me.

They were so close and did so much together. It reminded me of my grandparents on both sides as well as my parents. It wasn’t that she was stern; they were both passionately in love. In the movie when she wasn’t with him after he was shot she panicked and then he panicked when he didn’t know where she was. It hit me because I have said it to myself and to Bryan that I feel lost when I don’t hear from him every day.

There have been times it was 2 maybe 3 days before we were able to get a message to each other I could feel that emptiness to my bones. Nothing had ever felt more miserable. The scene when she finally gets into the hospital to see him, I could totally see the anguish melt into security when she put the air back over his nose and mouth. They found their security in the other once again in those few seconds. I can finally breathe after I see his text after a horribly long distance from the previous one, its that ability to take a breath of relief because you know he’s right there where he was supposed to be like before.

The difference between loving Ronald was with the women who loved him. Jane was an actress, she couldn’t see past the shallow water. Ronnie was a lifeguard and he looked at the current within the water. Nancy saw that current past the shallow water and saw there was a deeper purpose for this man and she was the right woman to love him through hard times as well as the good times. They had a special relationship that complemented each other really well. It was hard to not leave that theater yesterday without tearing up looking at that incredible force of nature called Ronald and Nancy Reagan.