A Religious New Year’s Eve Weekend
This year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations fell on a Sunday night/Monday morning. The weekend events had a very religious aura. On Friday, December 29th, President Ford died at the age of 93. It was not unexpected, but it did seem to cause a surprising surge of national introspection, particularly in Washington. Too bad the city’s memory will be so short. On Monday, one of the greatest football games ever played was enjoyed by sports fans, except by those from Oklahoma. It was particularly enjoyed by those of us in the Intermountain West. While President Ford wouldn’t have enjoyed the Rose Bowl game, I’m certain he would have enjoyed the Fiesta Bowl game.
Those of us in the 60-something generation (boomers) remember well the fall of Richard Nixon and everything that accompanied it. Some of us even wondered if America would survive Watergate intact. Then along came our knight in shining armour: Gerald Ford. We didn’t realize it at the time, but he was exactly what the country needed. A decent man . . .a unassuming man . . . a self-effacing man who understood what the country needed and wasn’t afraid to act in the public interest. I think most of us feel closer to President Ford than any other post-WWII president. He was “every man.” He rescued us from our long public nightmare. President Ford’s funeral services, and there were several, became our New Year’s national church service. Democrats, Republicans, Independents and even cynics like me, all paid tribute to a man who was only president for 2+ years.
One aspect of President Ford’s life that I admired was his religiousity. He didn’t air it in public like his predecessor or successor. He just lived it; he refused to name God as his co-pilot. President Ford, in later life, revealed that he found Carter’s discussion of faith unsettling. “I have always felt a closeness to God and have looked to a higher being for guidance and support,” President Ford explained, “but I didn’t think it was appropriate to advertise my religious beliefs.”
His wife Betty is to this day also a wonderful example. She was open about her breast cancer and her addictions. And, at the time, her candor about her afflictions was groundbreaking and made her a great role model. Her interviews with the press were refreshingly candid and unrehearsed.
Sadly we didn’t elect President Ford (and Betty) when he finally showed up on a national ballot. But he helped heal us, his short presidental term not withstanding. It was important for all Americans to review the wonderful life of Gerald Ford.
On Monday, New Year’s day, Cinderella won one of the greatest football games ever played. Under-appreciated Boise State University defeated football giant Oklahoma University. The end of the game, which went into overtime, featured not one . . . not two . . . but three trick plays: a hook-and-ladder, a half-back option, and a Statue of Liberty. Each was pretty much a do-or-die proposition. All three succeeded, and what are the odds of that? And the game had a lot more drama than just the three trick plays.
Boise State’s first year coach looked like he just graduated from college. All the pundits were saying that if BSU was humiliated, then it wouldn’t bode well for the future fortunes of non-BCS schools as it relates to the currently phony national championship. With a minute to go in regulation play, BSU’s quarterback made an almost tragic error. But the team held together and prevailed.
There are so many life lessons to be learned by what occurred over New Year’s Eve weekend. Since it is a holiday weekend, let’s remember the positive ones and forget the negative ones. Let’s forget that OU will continue to get the top high school recruits and that BSU’s coach will soon move to a larger university and make millions. Let’s forget how crooked the BCS is. Let’s forget that we didn’t elect President Ford when we had the chance and that we treated him poorly after he pardoned Nixon.
Let’s remember that the underdog always has a chance. Let’s remember that forgiveness is important and that nice guys don’t always finish last. Let’s remember that honesty is a good policy (except maybe when running for president). Could any church service be so inspiring? This is better than David and Goliath; IT’S REAL LIFE.