Tribute to Barbara and George Bush

by Bill Anderton

I first met George Herbert Walker Bush in his 1970 Republican Senate campaign while I was in college at Baylor. One of my old dorm suitemates had gone to work in the campaign and got me to volunteer in the campaign. I was active in Republican politics in Texas, so we crossed paths often at various fund-raisers and campaigns. Later, I became colleagues with his son Neil through our shared interest in education technology and served on one of his advisory boards.

The Bushs were gracious hosts. The private George and Barbara Bush were just as personable and charming as their public personae.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Austin Anderton that I took at Walker's Point where we spent the July 4th long weekend in 2000.

The wall on which Austin, the President and the First Lady are sitting is the same wall where George proposed to Barbara in the moonlight in 1943. The wall wraps around the family house at Walker's Point on the two sides of the house that face the Atlantic Ocean. The proposal occurred on the other side of the house, maybe a 150-feet or so away was the wall takes a dog-leg to the left to also protect the other side of the house. From the vantage of where the picture of Nancy and I was taken, the spot of the proposal was just a few feet to my immediate right.

George and Barbara were a true love story.

Naturally loving parents and grandparents, both made the effort to connect with Austin. Barbara soon found a deep connection with Austin through their dog. Austin had a great time playing fetch with the dog throwing her tennis ball on the lawn for most of the evening.

At the time of the First Lady Barbara Bush's passing, I made the following posting to my Facebook page:

We were guests at Walker's Point in Kennebunkport for the long July 4th weekend in 2000. On the first day there, the Bush family hosted a small private cocktail party in their home of all of us staying over. Austin Anderton was only 3 at the time and was the only child there for the first part of the evening. Austin was also a bit grumpy from the long flight, delayed connecting flights through Boston and the drive from Portland. Plus, we had just awakened her from a nap to go to the party. When the First Lady greeted us at the door, Barbara saw immediately what was happening and started making jokes to cheer Austin up; went into instant-grandmother mode. The First Lady went out of her way to befriend Austin and play with her. She got her dog's tennis ball and started throwing it for Millie to retrieve. Austin fell in love and she carried on, energized, for hours. Wore the poor dog out. Austin still has Millie's tennis ball!

Because we couldn't get Austin away from playing with the dog, we were some of the last guests to leave the party. The President and the First Lady were outside, saying goodbye to their guests as we all departed to return to our quarters in a nearby hotel. As we pulled away, I glanced back just in time to see the President and the First Lady (with else nobody around) jointly reach out for each others' hands and walked back to the house holding hands. This was instinctual and a sign of their true love match.

First Lady Barbara Bush is a magnificent person, anchoring rock for her family and a grand lady from the old school. One of the wittiest and most charming people I've ever met. She is an accomplished digital photographer (among many other things) with her framed family photos displayed all over the house. She also possesses a world-class sense of humor.

Edit: At age 92, Barbara announced yesterday that she is seeking "comfort care" only for her chronic and progressive lung and heart diseases. As stated in the Wall Street Journal this morning, "she is facing death with fortitude, courage and realism. She should inspire everyone in the medical arena, doctors and patients alike."

From our entire family, our thoughts and prayers go out today; sending lots of love.

All-too-soon, just months later, I made another posting upon the passing of President George Bush:

President George H.W. Bush always loved fast boats and called his a "fish'n boat" because he enjoyed taking out a fast sleek boat to fish for stripers and bluefish off the Maine coast.

My daughter Austin Anderton got to helm Fidelity II, the name of the President's boat at the time, over the July 4th weekend in 2000.

In 2000, the presidential boat was Fidelity II which was a 31’ Center Console design with twin 225-hp Mercury outboard engines from Fountain Powerboats. It was a dang-fast boat and fully fitted out for fishing as well as with all of the electronics and navigation aids for a true open-water craft. While it scared some people to go as fast as that boat could go on the open ocean, Austin was thrilled by the sea, the speed and was fearless. She giggled and laughed more the faster we went.

The President also loved having a boat that was much faster than the Secret Service's boat that followed him wherever he went. So, there was this "arms" race of fast boats every few years; every time the Secret Service upgraded, the President upgraded too. Or so says the myth; a myth promulgated by the President himself.

The original Fidelity was a Cigarette, but the President later turned to Fountains with Fidelity II because they were faster and more fuel-efficient. Fidelity II was replaced by Fidelity III which was a 34' Fountain Powerboats Center Console with triple Mercury 275-hp Verado outboards. Fidelity III was replaced by Fidelity IV in 2008 which was a 38’ Fountain Center Console powered by triple Mercury 300 hp Verado outboards. 2010 saw the arrival of Fidelity V, also a Fountain 38' Center Console, rigged again with three Mercury Verado 300-horsepower engines capable of pushing the high-performance fishing boat to 75 miles per hour in the open sea, much harder to do on the ocean with sea states and currents than in a lake. Fountain Powerboats reported that a boat identical to President Bush’s Fidelity IV established an endurance record from Hatteras, N.C., to New York Harbor, covering the 410 miles in 6 hours, 10 minutes, 8 seconds, averaging 64 mph.

You see the trend here, bigger and more powerful and faster. In reality, jokes aside on the speed thing, the President called the later Fidelity boats the best handling boat he had ever been in and the man knew boats. In addition to being a Navy man, he grew up with a love of boats and the sea since he was a young boy of 9 when his father let him and his older brother of 11 take the family lobster boat out by themselves.

He was deeply shaped all of his life by his love of the sea. 

Fair winds and following seas, Mr. President.