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BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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Is it just me, or is it much harder these days to find role models on
the world's stage? Forget the ball players; there are more than a few
rotten apples in that bloated barrel. Movie stars and celebrities? I
don't think so. National political leaders? Gone are the likes of Senators
Everett Dirksen and William Proxmire and Congresswoman Barbara Jordan.
The church? Whew; leaving aside Billy Graham, it'll take a century for
the church to cleanse itself. Well, allow me a few minutes here, and I'll give you something to wash the sour taste out of your mouth. I'd like to introduce you to Tony Snow.
Tony worked for newspapers in North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia. He also taught geography and physics in Kenya. He's been around. Tony worked for USA Today, National Public Radio, among other well-known organizations. Tony Snow served as the chief speech-writer for George Bush, 41. I first heard of Tony Snow when he was host of Fox's "Fox News Sunday." I found him to be bright and engaging. He was an insider, without being too far inside. But that's all I knew about him. In 2003 Tony left the TV show to start his own radio talk show. The field was crowded; it seemed to me like a strange move. But on the radio, Tony was free to talk more about himself and his beliefs, and what was important to him... and what should be important to us. Was that the reason he left television? I donno.
 The Important Part
The business pushes radio talk show hosts to make local appearances. Most on-the-rise stars hate it. Most established stars do not do it. I met Tony at a Chevrolet dealer in Brandon, Florida in January, 2005. There were about 30 people in the showroom where Tony hosted his national talk show. During commercial breaks, he recorded promos, talked to the audience, and signed autographs. He really seemed to enjoy it. When he talked about his family, you could feel the depth of his devotion to the people and the things that matter most. Yeah, he is the real thing.
Two words kept going through my mind when I thought of Tony Snow: courage and class. When word leaked in April, 2006 that Tony had been offered the job of press secretary to President Bush, he let his radio audience know that the decision would be a family decision; not a career decision; not an individual decision. His family allowed him take the huge pay cut to work in the White House at a very difficult time with an unpopular president. Courage and class. There are people on the other side who do not always like what Tony says. But I have heard no one say a word against him personally. Less than a year into his latest assignment, Tony learned that the cancer had returned; this time on the edge of his liver. This is not good news. Still, Tony was back at work a month later. While he was gone, whitehouse.gov offered a form to send Tony Snow a note. I decided, "What the heck," and told him what I thought of him... and then forgot all about it. Last week, 15 months later, I received the following reply from Tony Snow. Please take time to read it carefully:
Courage and class, huh? Now, did Tony Snow sit down and compose that letter personally, for me, the Chicowitz? I seriously doubt it. But it was addressed and sent to me, personally, not to "undisclosed-recipients." And it came from the White House e-mail server, from Tony Snow's personal e-mail address. Yeah; he is the real thing. You can read Tony Snow's syndicated columns here: http://www.jewishworldreview.com/tony/snow.archives.asp Many of his essays involve presidential politics. But many of them address the issues that you and I should care about most... the issues that affect our lives every day. I know; it feels better to put on the jersey of your favorite football hero and watch him on television. It is more exciting to think of what it would be like to schmooze with your favorite movie star. But if you are looking for what really matters, the core values of our lives, latch on to Tony Snow. He leads the way. Tony Snow is a terrific role model for our times. Tony Snow is one of us. Or, more precisely, he is what we all would like to be.
Amazing Update A few days after I posted this essay, and at the risk of bugging him, I sent Tony a followup note:
I did it just for the heck of it... ya' gotta take a stab at it. Less than five hours later, in the middle of the night, this showed up in my mailbox:
Courage and class... and a genuine, terrific guy!
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Exploring My Roots: A Chicowitz History
Membership details here.
Terrific boomer memorabilia!!
Remember this?
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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