Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

I don’t quite understand all the hoopla surrounding former President Ronald Reagan’s death. I do understand that, as a former chief executive of our country, he is eligible for a state funeral; but does that entitle him to wall-to-wall coverage on television when he left the office over 15 years ago?

Two thoughts bother me most. First, if this is what we do for a former president, what is there left to do for a sitting president who might die or be assassinated in office? Second, could it be that the airtime given to the former president’s passing is being manipulated so as to keep campaign news of the current presidential election off the air?

I don’t have the answer to either question, but I would like to meet someone who does.

I was much younger when Reagan was in office and also much more preoccupied with simply getting by than I am now. So I cannot really say what his contribution to world peace or tearing down the Berlin Wall or dismantling the former Soviet Union really is.

What I remember most is a folk song sung by the long defunct Chad Mitchell Trio which was semi-popular when Reagan was running for the office of Governor of California prior to running for national office. The lyrics are priceless and refer to how this country needs another movie star. It goes on to refer to Reagan’s B-movie performances and his subsequent television western, Death Valley Days. Specifically, those lyrics are: “‘Cause Bonny Ronnie Reagan knows experience pays, so California better get set for Death Valley Days.” Little did the Chad Mitchell Trio know it was prophesizing the future beyond California.

Whether I agreed with his politics or not, I respect any president at the time of his passing; but I do think the media coverage is more than enough. As my next door neighbor. the widow of a man who was in the real Stalag 17 during World War II, said: “I loved my husband just as much as Nancy loved hers, but because he was never president he didn’t get to have such recognition.”