Making things happen
... with integrity
Monday September 13, 2004 Volume VI Number 37
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by Ken Kemp |
he first thing that strikes you here in Kansas City is how nice everyone is. There is a reason, apparently, why they call them Mid-western values. This is the heartland of America. Friendly is an American virtue. It permeates the place.
And in Independence, the presence of the “down home President,” Harry S. Truman, remains undeniable. He’s everywhere. The source of pride is not so much of what he accomplished those seven years in high office, though over at the Presidential Library, those accomplishments are pretty well documented. It has more to do with button-popping pride in a country and a system that would enable such an ordinary citizen to reach such an extraordinarily high position of power and authority – the leader of the free world began as a Missouri farm boy. They don’t forget that around here.
What endears him most to his admirers is that he never let go of those down-home values. After he completed his second term in office, in 1952 he returned to the town where he attended Presbyterian Sunday School, in the first grade. Also in the same class was Bess Wallace, a child of privilege who lived in a big house over on Delaware Avenue. When the teenager came to town after a long week on the farm in neighboring Lamar, Bessie’s parents, particularly her mother, disapproved when he showed up on the porch at the front door with a bunch of wild flowers held behind his back. The parlor was no place for a suitor of his sort. Young Bess was warned – stay away from that boy.
But love finds a way.
He went off to war, and in France, commanding ground troops and cannon, he proved his mettle. Returning to Independence, he was welcomed along with his pal, Eddie Jacobson as a hero of the Great War (WWI). Harry never forgot Bessie. A veteran now, with capitalist stars in his eyes, self-taught, Bessie married Harry over her mother’s objections.
Harry’s charms were informed by more than combat. His bravery and leadership on the battlefield across the ocean gave him a certain personal magnetism. But the quick wit, the depth of insight, the breadth of knowledge - while enhanced by travel and the harsh cruelties of war – were rooted in a childhood of exploration and discovery. Harry read books. Biographies, histories, novels, encyclopedias, everything. Even as a child, his pace of study caught the attention of his teachers. They encouraged him as a first rate student. The recognition only made him a more eager learner. And he played piano. The classics. Chapin, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn. Bessie Wallace’s mother never really let the boy prove himself. But Bessie knew it – this young farm boy would make his mark.
And to this day, we’re still talking about his influence and his remarkable achievements.
He became President just eighty-two days after he had been elected Vice President. As FDR entered an unprecedented fourth term, his illness had some effect. But no one anticipated the massive stroke that took his life so early in that term. Truman was sworn in as a stunned nation mourned the loss of the wartime President who took the nation out of the depression years. Germany was about to fall, but Adolf Hitler was still alive until April 30, 1945, when in Berlin he and Eva Braunn took their own lives. That was only eighteen days after Truman took office.
He would preside over the Germany’s surrender to the Allied Forces. The following summer, he would order the end of the firebombing of Tokyo, suspend plans for a Normandy style invasion of Japan by the largest force ever assembled for such a purpose and order the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atom bombs, tested in New Mexico only one month before. Within days of the blasts, Japan surrendered unconditionally. The new President moved into the White House as the Second World War came to a victorious end.
He would finish the three years of FDR’s term. And then he won a term on his own merits, surprising the nation by defeating the popular Republican, Thomas E. Dewey.
Truman faced reconstruction. Both Europe and Asia stood in ruins. The task was monumental. A war weary world looked to the United States for leadership. Truman gave it. He championed the Marshall Plan. He supported the United Nations Resolution to recognize the nation Israel. Without his backing, some believe Israel would never be. He moved to protect Greece and Turkey from the expansion of Stalin’s brand of communism.
But by 1952 he had enough. He refused the offer to run for another term, yielding to his friend Dwight Eisenhower (who ran as a Republican). He returned to Independence. With Bessie.
Her mother remained unconvinced that he was good enough.
* * * * * *
This is the same part of the country that produced the young woman who won my nephew’s heart.
Her name is Anna. The two of them asked me to perform their wedding. So I did.
It’s a role I left behind years ago – but now, as I think about the generations and the possibilities of the future as young people come together in the context of mutual respect and the love and support of caring family and friends and invited the blessing of the living God, wonderful things happen. I’ve come to the place in my life where I want to be right in the middle of that. Encouraging it. Giving it a voice.
Tim and Anna gave me the chance. They are delightful, winsome, intelligent people. They stood tall, making their promise. They savored the beauty of the moment. Friends sacrificed to be there. They savored, too. The candles were lit. The musicians tuned up their strings and horns. Parents approached the bittersweet moment with a blush and a faint trembling – blessing them in their happiness, but knowing most of all that it is time to let go.
Midway through, as the ceremony progressed, I asked Tim, then Anna, to open their hands, palms up, each held by the other. And then I suggested that they look on those open hands as I launched out on this meditation –
Anna - these are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love, they hold your hand on your wedding day, as he promises to love you all the days of his life.
These are the hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams.
Someday, in God’s good time, if he so blesses, these are the hands you will place with expectant joy against your stomach, until he too, feels a life stirring within you.
These are the hands that look so large and strong, yet will be so gentle as he holds you, and someday, your baby for the first time.
These are the hands that will work long hours for you and your new family
These are that hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.
These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy
These are the hands that will comfort you in illness, and hold you when fear or grief seem more than you can bear.
These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes: eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love for you.
And then, Tim -
Timothy, please hold Anna’s hands, palms up, where you may see the gift that they are to you.
These are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young and carefree, that are holding yours on this your wedding day, as she pledges her love and commitment to you all the days of her life.
These are the hands that will hold each child in tender love, soothing them through illness and hurt, supporting and encouraging them along the way, and knowing when it is time to let go.
These are the hands that will massage tension from you neck and back in the evenings after you’ve both had a long hard day.
These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times
These are the hands that will comfort you when you are sick, or console you when you are grieving.
They are the hands that will love you with passion and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness.
These are the hands that will hold you in joy and excitement and hope, as your family grows.
These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams.
Together, hand in hand, everything you hope for can become real.
God, bless these hands that you see before you this day. May they always be held by one another. Give them the strength to hold on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment. Keep them tender and gentle as they nurture each other in love. Help these hands to continue building a relationship founded in your grace, rich in caring, and devoted in reaching for your perfect will.
May Tim and Anna know these four hands as healer, protector, shelter and guide.
All of this we ask this in the strong name of Jesus our Lord, Amen.
And when I finished, with the sound of sniffles and the look of reddened eyes, here and there in the room, some of the long time married people there took the hand beside them, and gave them a new look.
* * * * * *
It’s Monday morning. You are a leader.
Harry Truman taught us something about ordinary people. His love for Bessie brought out the best in him. He dreamed big dreams. He overcame the doubts of a mother-in-law. Bessie went along with him - from Independence to Washington DC and then back again.
There is so much I’d like to tell you about my Kansas City (MO) weekend with Tim and Anna. My faith the in the future is stronger. My appreciation of the past more profound.
Take a look at those hands. Yours first. Then your spouse’s. Think about what those hands have been through. What they’ve done. What they’ve yet to do.
These are the hands.
In a pair of newly weds, it’s only the beginning.
And this Monday morning is a new beginning for you, too.
Posted in Kansas City, Missouri
© Copyright Kenneth E. Kemp 2004
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