From the Hartwell Files, 2003
Note from Babs:
Following is a letter from a woman who grew up in the same Texas town as G.W. Bush. I think it's crystal clear G.W. hasn't changed much since the old days.....as you'll see if you read on......
HOW I REMEMBER GEORGE W. BUSH
By Alena Lightfoot, Midland, Texas USA
June 15, 2003
Being a fifth generation native Texan and half Native American, I have always taken pride in being a part of this beautiful state. That is why it is particularly infuriating to me that we have gotten such a bad name because of George Bush.
I am also from Midland, Texas and have called it my home since 1946. Being a year older than Bush and living in Midland, I remember his childhood from an early age. Since my Father was in an oil-related business, he had several occasions to meet Bush, Sr. (George H.W. Bush) when they first moved to Odessa in 1947.
Bush, the father, had bought out Zapata Drilling Corporation and had moved to Texas in all probability to evade paying state taxes. Odessa is another oil town 20 miles west of Midland.
My first memories of Bush are from when they moved to Midland and he enrolled in school at Sam Houston Elementary where he was in the same class as my little brother. Although he and my brother weren't buddies, they did play together in school.
I remember him as a spoiled kid who tried to control the playground and was in trouble often. You wouldn't call him the school bully because he wasn't tough enough for that. He was more of a control freak.
The Bushes moved around like gypsies from rented house to rented house for several years before buying the house a block from my childhood home on Sinclair Street. He played Little League baseball. Therefore, he and my brother were around each other more then, although my brother never liked him because George W. was a really bad sport; he hated to lose. He was famous for kicking the dirt and throwing his bat if he struck out.
There was a large vacant area across a main street just at the end of our block, the gathering place for all the kids -- especially after a good rain. Bush and his friends would routinely be there catching, torturing frogs and shooting their BB guns.
I guess the thing that stood out most in my mind about George W. is that he always had to be the leader. He had to win or he simply changed the rules of the game to where he came out on top. It had to be his way or no way, and, thus, he chose friends who were easy to manipulate.
This carried right on into his teens. In junior high school George was a lot more interested in being the leader and clowning around than he was studying. I have read articles saying he was the quarterback of San Jacinto's football team, but for the life of me, I don't remember him being so.
George was sent off to a Prep school when he was 15 and that was the last we saw of him for years -- although we did hear glowing reports on his academic accomplishments from his Mother and friends.
I went away to college and passed the entrance exams to get into the University of Texas. George Bush couldn't pass these exams and was turned down. He then went to college at his Daddy's old Alma Mater, Yale.
George returned to Midland in the mid 70s and soon after married Laura. At that time, he was known to frequent the bars in Midland and gained a reputation of drinking heavily. Though I never saw it first hand, he was also known to be into drugs.
I did have an occasion to meet up with him in a bar here in `73; George was staggering drunk and asked my friend to fly to Ruidosa with him and Wahoo McDaniels. My friend replied to him, "No thank you."
George stuck his chest out and said, "Do you know who I am?"
To which my friend replied, "No, should I?"
He smirked and said as he walked off: "It's your f***ing loss, babe."
After W. left the table I told her who he was and she said "What a jerk!"
And I guess that summed up my thoughts of him to a "T." My views haven't changed one whit to this day.
I wasn't too surprised to learn he had joined the TNG (Texas Air National Guard) instead of the regular Army, as I never thought of him as a hero. However, I was surprised that they took someone who drank, did drugs and was a dim bulb over all the other qualified applicants on the waiting list -- even with his Daddy's pull.
I didn't vote for him for Governor of Texas. In fact I couldn't believe he would even think of running for the office. I sure never imagined he would win.
He is absolutely the worst thing that ever happened to Texas. His record here is dismal. Even though my Dad was in the oil business, he wasn't a Republican and had no use for either of the Bush men.
When I first heard he was thinking about running for President, I just chuckled. I never dreamed that with his record as governor here in Texas, his crooked business dealings, his inability to even run a business and his record of drinking and drugs in his past he would even become a presidential candidate.
Being a fifth generation native Texan and half Native American, I have always taken pride in being a part of this beautiful state. That is why it is particularly infuriating to me that we have gotten such a bad name because of George Bush.
I am also from Midland, Texas and have called it my home since 1946. Being a year older than Bush and living in Midland, I remember his childhood from an early age. Since my Father was in an oil-related business, he had several occasions to meet Bush, Sr. (George H.W. Bush) when they first moved to Odessa in 1947.
Bush, the father, had bought out Zapata Drilling Corporation and had moved to Texas in all probability to evade paying state taxes. Odessa is another oil town 20 miles west of Midland.
My first memories of Bush are from when they moved to Midland and he enrolled in school at Sam Houston Elementary where he was in the same class as my little brother. Although he and my brother weren't buddies, they did play together in school.
I remember him as a spoiled kid who tried to control the playground and was in trouble often. You wouldn't call him the school bully because he wasn't tough enough for that. He was more of a control freak.
The Bushes moved around like gypsies from rented house to rented house for several years before buying the house a block from my childhood home on Sinclair Street. He played Little League baseball. Therefore, he and my brother were around each other more then, although my brother never liked him because George W. was a really bad sport; he hated to lose. He was famous for kicking the dirt and throwing his bat if he struck out.
There was a large vacant area across a main street just at the end of our block, the gathering place for all the kids -- especially after a good rain. Bush and his friends would routinely be there catching, torturing frogs and shooting their BB guns.
I guess the thing that stood out most in my mind about George W. is that he always had to be the leader. He had to win or he simply changed the rules of the game to where he came out on top. It had to be his way or no way, and, thus, he chose friends who were easy to manipulate.
This carried right on into his teens. In junior high school George was a lot more interested in being the leader and clowning around than he was studying. I have read articles saying he was the quarterback of San Jacinto's football team, but for the life of me, I don't remember him being so.
George was sent off to a Prep school when he was 15 and that was the last we saw of him for years -- although we did hear glowing reports on his academic accomplishments from his Mother and friends.
I went away to college and passed the entrance exams to get into the University of Texas. George Bush couldn't pass these exams and was turned down. He then went to college at his Daddy's old Alma Mater, Yale.
George returned to Midland in the mid 70s and soon after married Laura. At that time, he was known to frequent the bars in Midland and gained a reputation of drinking heavily. Though I never saw it first hand, he was also known to be into drugs.
I did have an occasion to meet up with him in a bar here in `73; George was staggering drunk and asked my friend to fly to Ruidosa with him and Wahoo McDaniels. My friend replied to him, "No thank you."
George stuck his chest out and said, "Do you know who I am?"
To which my friend replied, "No, should I?"
He smirked and said as he walked off: "It's your f***ing loss, babe."
After W. left the table I told her who he was and she said "What a jerk!"
And I guess that summed up my thoughts of him to a "T." My views haven't changed one whit to this day.
I wasn't too surprised to learn he had joined the TNG (Texas Air National Guard) instead of the regular Army, as I never thought of him as a hero. However, I was surprised that they took someone who drank, did drugs and was a dim bulb over all the other qualified applicants on the waiting list -- even with his Daddy's pull.
I didn't vote for him for Governor of Texas. In fact I couldn't believe he would even think of running for the office. I sure never imagined he would win.
He is absolutely the worst thing that ever happened to Texas. His record here is dismal. Even though my Dad was in the oil business, he wasn't a Republican and had no use for either of the Bush men.
When I first heard he was thinking about running for President, I just chuckled. I never dreamed that with his record as governor here in Texas, his crooked business dealings, his inability to even run a business and his record of drinking and drugs in his past he would even become a presidential candidate.
Little did I know....
In all these years my opinion of him hasn't changed. I still see him as a spoiled kid who has to have his way and is not above deception and manipulation to gain what he wants.
So, when you read some article that tells you what an alcoholic, drug-using crook he was, believe it! When you read an article saying he shot frogs and blew them up with firecrackers when he was a kid, believe it! When you see an article saying George W. is an ego-maniac, believe it! When you read an article saying he was a spoiled kid who doesn't know the first thing about having to work and support a family and couldn't care less, believe it!
Though I know you have read some of these things in different articles, I just thought you might like the perspective of one who has seen much of it first-hand.