I loved going up to the library to witness the sunset. If you stand by the piece of the Berlin Wall and look out, you can see the sun setting over the Pacific which glints copper as the sun vanishes.
I went there to see the Air Force One exhibit in 2007 with my cousins when I flew down to L.A. to see them. My cousin-by-marriage was a major TV writer and producer until he retired to play tennis and golf. He’s an unrepentant liberal.
At the beginning of the tour, there was a film about Reagan. By the end, people were in tears, and my cousin walked out in annoyance. The rest of us rejoined him later.
At the grave site, my last stop on the tour, I found people in tears.
When we got home from the library visit, I found a framed script on his office wall with dialog between Reagan and Bob Hope with a whole series of handwritten changes and corrections. I asked him about it.
When Hope did his 85th birthday show on NBC in 1988, my cousin had written the script for that piece of dialog. He had faxed the script to Reagan aboard AF1, and he suspected that Reagan would not like one particular joke in the script. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Reagan called him over the AF1 phone, and they spent the next 15 minutes polishing that gag until it was perfect.
Despite the differences in their politics, he respected Reagan’s comic timing and gifts for showbiz. That was enough for him to frame the script on the wall. It was two seasoned professionals at their best.
As I stated earlier, I have been twice. Even so, I look forward to visiting again.
Thanks, Publius, for the post about the Reagan Library.
Watching Reagan’s funeral in 2004, I was struck by the beauty of the place, and resolved that someday I would visit.
I respect and admire Reagan so much. I voted for him twice and the 80s were a very good time for me and my family.
It is on my bucket list.
We lived there from 2002 to 2010 north of Madera Rd.; the other side of our back-yard fence was Library property.
When Reagan died, all houses in our subdivision were visited and given written notices. One section read something like, “Do not attempt to move up the hillside.” Between the homes and Presidential Dr. there were law enforcement officers riding horses along the hillside, and Secret Service (we assume) scanning our area with binoculars.
The day of the funeral the subdivision was in lockdown and Madera Rd. was closed to all traffic. About an hour before the procession was scheduled to come through, we were given permission to stand at the corner where Eisenhower Way meets Presidential. As it turned out, the procession was about an hour later than planned because they hadn’t expected the thousands of people that lined the highways from the plane at Point Mugu. We were about 10 feet from the cars as they passed by going up to the Library. Saw Margaret Thatcher.
It was an interesting time and we got some interesting photos. One I love is of a little rabbit standing on the other side of Presidential as we waited for the procession. He stood there quietly for a very long time, as if he knew what was happening and was waiting with the rest of us.