THE LATE JAMES BUCKLEY WAS A GREAT HUMAN BEING

James Buckley, who recently passed away at age 100 was the finest gentleman I ever met. He improbably was elected Senator from New York on a Conservative Party ticket due to a three-way race after an earlier unsuccessfully attempt I also worked on. This was at a time when the party was thriving due to his brother Bill’s earlier NYC Mayoral race, (another three-way contest, which had the unfortunate result of electing John Lindsay Mayor). At the time the Republican Party was still dominated by “liberal” or Rockefeller Republicans, so the Conservative Party was established to provide an alternative, and quickly became the third largest party in the state.

Bill was acerbic at times, but the older brother rarely uttered an unkind word about anyone, and was a thoroughly decent human being. It still makes me angry to recall the remarks of the sore-loser Democrat candidate, one Richard Ottinger, who griped that at least two out of three people voted for “decency.” There is great irony in the degree to which he was so off-target in the case of this good and gracious man, and to just whom the word “decency” really applied, But that was how the left continuously tried to demonize and delegitimize conservatives in those days, to no avail.

Unfortunately these days you rarely encounter anyone with Jim Buckley’s class and demeanor, especially in the upper reaches of power-holders. He was not driven by personal ambition, nor did he crave power, which enabled him to be refreshingly detached, thoughtful and principled. That is the kind of person we desperately need in office in today’s shallow, coarse, and dumbed-down political environment. He lived a long, honorable, and fulfilling life, and what can better be said of a man?

A THANKSGIVING GIFT

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I experienced something nice.  The other day I wrote that my wallet was stolen in Times Square. I took the necessary precautionary steps, and resigned myself to its loss, as there is no point in agonizing over things you cannot change. But I just received a package containing my wallet, virtually intact, minus the credit cards, (which have all been canceled and replaced anyway), Even the cash was included. The very decent individual who sent it wrote that it was found on a street in Brooklyn. I am ever so thankful, not so much because the wallet was returned,  as because it is a pleasure to learn that there are still good people in this world.

Something similar happened to me some years ago, when leaving a Hawaiian resort. We left our things in what was supposed to be a secure storage room, while we went for a last swim. When I returned the wallet was missing, apparently lifted by an employee. When I got back home, I shortly thereafter received a phone call from someone staying in the same rooms at the resort, who said he found my wallet in the suite. Apparently the employee who had taken it got nervous after I complained and the heat was on, and made it reappear. He said he was sending it back to me, and refused any reimbursement, saying “I would hope that someone else would do the same for me.” Truer words were never spoken. 

For all the bad things we constantly hear about, we tend to forget that not everyone is a thief and  that they are greatly outnumbered by good people. This has restored my faith in others, in basic human decency, and I am indeed thankful for that. I am thankful for all the people who always rush to help others, be it an emergency or simply assisting strangers in the city. So this Thanksgiving I will be thinking about all the fine people that are still are around; people who will do the right thing even if no one is looking. It is something to ponder, always keep in mind, and  pass on to others. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.