Patti Davis Ruminates About Childhood in Essay (Happy Fathers Day Ronald Reagan)

Associated Press (via Yahoo News) ^ | 9 June 2003

[CounterCounterCulture]

Davis Ruminates About Childhood in Essay

Mon Jun 9, 6:52 AM ET

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Patti Davis, daughter of former President Ronald Reagan, ruminates on her years as a petulant child — and how she's come to appreciate her father's guidance as she's grown older — in a Father's Day essay for Newsweek.

In a home movie showing her as an 11-year-old, Davis writes, "my petulance is obvious as I shrug myself away from my mother's outstretched arm — asserting my will, brandishing my independence."

What wasn't filmed during those years, she writes, was "my father's sad eyes when he tried to tell me how much my behavior hurt my mother."

"Now it is decades later," she says. "I walk with my mother through her garden ... Her pace is slower these days, and I adjust mine accordingly. My father is in the room that has become his corner of the world since Alzheimer's imprisoned him. It's the last room he will see when his eyes close for the final time."

Reagan was "always polite — achingly so ... I didn't stop to linger in the sweetness of that quality," Davis says. After he left the White House, he sat at her dinner table "and tried subtly to pick tomatoes out of the pasta dish I had made.

"I had forgotten that he didn't like raw tomatoes ... I think (now) there are times he eats only out of politeness, because he's being asked to, not because he's hungry."

Davis writes that some people would say her father's footprints are larger than those of other parents because of his political legacy, "But those aren't the footprints I see when I look back down on the years. I see the soft scuff of dirt rising up from his brown walking shoes as he took his daughter to the top to the hill to fly a kite."

[CounterCounterCulture]

Former first lady Nancy Reagan is escorted by her daughter Patti Davis as she arrives at the premiere of the film 'Stuart Little 2' in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, Sunday, July 14, 2002. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

[Humidston]

I love that gentleman. He was a giant.

[conservogirl]

I truely love Ronald Reagan.

His autobiography, "An American Life" is a great book - it takes you through the whole 20th Century from the roaring 20s to the Depression, to WWII to the golden age of Hollywood, to the turmoil of the 60s and beyond. The American history is just as interesting as his Presidential Memoirs. He has had an amazing life and I highly recommend the book. He does discuss the problems they had with Patti but seemed to view it as youthful rebellion and peer influences.

Also, Patti's book "Angels Don't Die - My Father's Gift of Faith" gives great insight into Reagan's spiritual sensitivity and his appreciation for wonder of God's creations. It is a small inspirational book and gives you a sense of his personality and how he instilled faith in his children.

President Reagan is one of a kind - a truely great man.

[CounterCounterCulture]

NEWSWEEK article: My Turn...I’m Ready to Follow My Father’s Lead

[Diver Dave]

bump for a later read.

Evenin' CCC

[jla]

He sure is.

[jla]

This is a wonderful testament to a great man.

I can't help thinking that RR somehow always knew it'd turn out like this. God Bless ya, Patti.

See entire article via link@Post #5. (Thanks CCC)

[jla]

Betcha you'll like this.

[cherry_bomb88]

thanks for the ping....brought tears to my eyes reading that story. What a magnificent man he is.

His is a legacy that no one can deny.I will always remember him as his presidency brought me from a teen to a young adult.

[CounterCounterCulture]

You're quite welcome. :-)

[CounterCounterCulture]

ping

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Evidently she grew up. She was such a brat and so nasty to her parents.

[dead]

Too bad her ballerina brother hasn't undergone the same maturation process.

[miss marmelstein]

Am I cynical to believe that this is just ANOTHER career move? She realizes that Reagan is going down in history as a great president and is - at long last - trying to jump on the bandwagon.

[sultan88]

Thanks for the ping. What a wonderful tribute she wrote to her Dad. Beautiful!!

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Am I cynical to believe that this is just ANOTHER career move? She realizes that Reagan is going down in history as a great president and is - at long last - trying to jump on the bandwagon.

At this point she may be worried about her inheritance, although Nancy Reagan appears to be a very forgiving mother. This girl caused her parents a lot of heartache.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Too bad her ballerina brother hasn't undergone the same maturation process.

Is he still obnoxious? He and Patti were two of the most ungrateful kids.

[Hildy]

Why is Reagan Jr. ungrateful? What did he do that was so bad?

[dead]

Is he still obnoxious?

As always!

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