Riding with Reagan. Rochelle Schweizer

to do it?”

      “Sir, we will ride back to the White House Communications Agency.” It was located in a Chevy Suburban, with lots of antennas protruding from the roof, equipped with special devices to meet all the President’s communication needs. In it was the phone the President could use to call anyone in the world. Even when riding, this vehicle was close behind. The President rode back to the WHCA vehicle at once and took the call from Bill Clark. He was told that the Russians had just shot down KAL-007, a civilian 747 airliner, killing all the passengers aboard.

      There were only two times I saw him angry, and that was one of them. When we resumed our ride, he pounded on his saddle and said, “Those were innocent people, those damned Russians. They knew that was a civilian aircraft.” He was visibly upset. That was one of the few times we left the ranch early.

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      TO PRESIDENT REAGAN, his ranch was what American life was all about. What could be better than someone riding a horse through the open land that he owned? That picture was the epitome of America.

      I believe deep down he embraced the cowboy ideals of the West, such as a firm handshake and friendship. The history of the West is one of hardworking cowboys, the John Wayne types, and he truly believed in hard work. Let’s just all chip in and get it done, it doesn’t matter who gets the credit. That was Reagan’s way. In doing business, all that was needed was a firm handshake. A cowboy would die before he’d break his word. His word was his bond. (Today you hire six lawyers to break your word for you.) Cowboys always told the direct truth and were never out of control. When you think of a cowboy, the myth of a cowboy, you think of a man who is hardworking, good to his animals, and takes care of his equipment. He never starts a conflict but will finish one if he needs to.

      No matter what your politics were, if you sat down with the President and talked to him, he would have some answers for you. You might not have liked his answers or his way of thinking to solve your problem, but he always had a solution. If you didn’t agree with his solutions, that was okay too. Everyone was entitled to his or her opinion. The President’s philosophy of a firm handshake spilled over into the way he handled politics. If you examine his history with Gorbachev, he viewed him not only as someone he might like to work with but as someone he needed to cooperate with. He figured Gorbachev was somebody he could deal with, so he was going to give him his word and stick to it. He was extremely anxious to meet the new Soviet premier. That was one case where he did not rely as much on his advisors who were recommending a different approach with Gorbachev.

      Obviously, there were clear differences between the President and Gorbachev. One time, he wrote a letter to the Soviet leader using some pretty strong words about communism and nonbelief in God. He told Gorbachev that he should let his people go to church if they wanted to. The State Department did not want him to send that letter. They felt it was a slap in the face to the Russians. Although he never said anything harsh to them, they would argue. Finally the President said, “You send your letters, and I’ll send mine.” In other words, this conversation is over, and that’s what I’m going to do. They knew not to push him one more step.

      Then there was the evil empire speech. On Air Force One, his advisors kept telling him he couldn’t say that. They would cross it off the speech and then hand it back to him. He’d immediately write it back in. They’d cross it off. He’d write it back in. After about the third time, he said, “Listen. You can cross this off all you want, but that’s what I’m going to say.” They were all left just wringing their hands.

      I was often struck by how President Reagan interacted with Gorbachev. Before he met with him at the summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, the President spoke to the interpreter and asked that when he interpreted Gorbachev’s words, he wanted him to translate not just the words, but the feelings behind them. The feelings were important to him; whether Gorbachev was being sincere and honest. You can say, “It’s a nice day” and not really mean it, or you can say, “It’s a nice day out!” exuding enthusiasm. The interpreter did that for him. Never before had I heard anyone request to have an interpreter translate the emotions of what was being said.

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      WHILE WE ALL KNOW Ronald Reagan as a public figure, he was in many respects a very private man, who enjoyed solitude and being alone. He spent most of his childhood in crowded neighborhoods and rented apartments and houses, playing on porches or in yards. There certainly weren’t horses around. I think that was why he cherished his ranches so much, because he finally was able to have them. Even as a little boy, though, he found places to escape to, to be alone. In one of the rented homes he lived in, he discovered a collection of birds’ eggs and butterflies in the attic that had been left by the previous tenant. These fascinated him. The other place he’d steal to was the Rock River in Dixon, Illinois, where he would go for long walks. Here was the open space he longed for.

      Growing up, the sport he enjoyed most was swimming, another solitary activity. He was a lifeguard at Rock River, a challenging branch of the Mississippi. That river was swift, and for people who weren’t used to it, it was dangerous. Often, both young kids and older people needed help. It has been said that Reagan saved seventy-seven people, making a notch on a log every time he did. While I found that hard to believe, that number has been documented.

      He truly loved being an actor, and later he became an extremely well-versed orator, speaking in front of thousands of people. Yet, the actual idea of being a celebrity or public figure was not that important to him. He most enjoyed being alone in a quiet place like the ranch.

      Reagan had a fascination with creation and what he called “the handiwork of God.” He had a deep and abiding belief in God and was a profoundly spiritual person. The President and Billy Graham were great friends, and they would talk about their faith.

      When we were out riding, he would sometimes quote the Bible and talk to me about it. Those were heavy, but usually one-sided, conversations between us. He truly believed that God worked through history. I would just respond, “Uh-huh. Yes, sir.” I just have never been a deep thinker about thoughts like that.

      At the ranch, more than anywhere else, the President could enjoy all of God’s marvelous creation. He would say, “Only God could put this together. Man cannot do this. Every leaf, every tree, that sky, those mountains, that ocean.” He would thoughtfully point to each thing while he was talking. Standing under the huge sky, he felt as if he had everything he needed right there.

      He saw a natural order to things, an order designed by the Creator. “This is God’s plan,” he would say about the rhythm of nature. “It’s not man’s plan.”

      Once, someone tried to trip him up and said, “Well, if God wanted the brush cleared, He would have done so.”