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Nostalgia June 2013

Aid for Age

Once When Nancy Reagan Was Wet and Cold

By Tait Trussell

While Reagan and I were talking, we looked up and saw Nancy splashing toward shore. As she stepped on shore and walked up to us, she was shivering. I graciously handed her my beach towel, so she could dry herself and wrap it around her chilly shoulders.

I remember the time Nancy Reagan borrowed my towel to dry off her cold and wet body. It was an incident in my past that I always enjoy telling friends about.

Yes, it’s the truth. She really did use my towel. But I’m obliged to provide some detail of what may seem both unbelievable and slightly salacious.

It occurred many years ago while I was working for a magazine at the time. It was during a convention of state governors where, through the years, the governors have met to discuss, argue, and speechify on current issues.

The conference I was covering was when Reagan was governor of California. Nancy had always been a political asset to Reagan and was with him at the conference, as were other wives of governors. The first such conference of governors was held in 1908 at the White House and was sponsored by then-President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt opened that first conference with a speech on conservation as a national duty. Andrew Carnegie and several major industrialists spoke. Their speeches emphasized the importance of exploiting renewable resources.

At the beginning of governors’ conferences, all the governors meet together, and with invited guests on occasion. In more recent years, both Republicans and Democrats have held their own conferences. But what has always been a hallmark of these conferences, in addition to discussion of current political issues, has been an assurance that the conferences would be held in intriguing locations where some time could be spent by the governors and their families in posh accommodations and with recreational opportunities. That year the conference was in the Virgin Islands.

Reporting on the speeches and decisions of the governors was my reason for attending that conference; meeting Nancy was the unexpected dividend.

As many seniors will recall, Ronald Reagan, back in 1965, had been encouraged by conservative political leaders and business leaders to run for governor. Many don’t know that this symbol of conservatism began as an enthusiastic liberal. He even described himself in the 1950s as a “New Dealer to the core.”

He evolved from liberal to conservative during the time he served as host of the General Electric Theater on TV. Previously he had been president of the Screen Actors Guild. His GE contract called on him to spend a quarter of his eight years as a GE speechmaker touring the 40 states and 139 plants of GE’s far-flung corporate domain.

When Reagan decided to run for governor of California, he presented himself as an ordinary citizen fired up with politics and committed to making government more accountable and efficient. He won in a landslide, as many of us seniors remember.

Reagan inherited a sizeable budget deficit from the previous administration. So, he ordered an across-the-board cut in state spending only to have to restore funds to many programs that were already too lean to survive the cuts.

But, moving my account back to the governors’ conference in the Virgin Islands: Like most of the attendees, I was out on the beach. I spotted then-Gov. Reagan on the beach about a quarter of a mile from where I was. I had met and talked with Reagan at a National Press Club reception several months previously. So, I strolled up to where he was standing near the water to talk with him, hoping a conversation would lead to a story for my magazine.

As we talked, Nancy Reagan had continued to swim after her husband had come out of the bright blue waters. While Reagan and I were talking, we looked up and saw Nancy splashing toward shore. As she stepped on shore and walked up to us, she was shivering. I graciously handed her my beach towel, so she could dry herself and wrap it around her chilly shoulders.

She smiled graciously and thanked me. Then she left so I could continue my conversation with the Governor. I have no idea what we discussed or whether I wrung any exclusive information from Reagan. But it was certainly worth the opportunity of granting a little warmth to a then-young and lovely lady.

And it’s always made for a good tale to tell.

 

Tait Trussell is an old guy and fourth-generation professional journalist who writes extensively about aging issues among a myriad of diverse topics.

Meet Tait