The Bush Family Fantasy

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It makes a cleaner, simpler story. But it made me wonder about other, untold stories. How had Midland and West Texas marked George W. Bush in ways that didn’t fit with the Norman Rockwell renderings of community cookouts? Had this hard country, with so little time or patience for self-reflection, contributed to a man who famously never admits mistakes nor learns from them? Wasn’t there something more, something that could explain him better?

“We’ve had a few surprises here, I guess,” said Christopher Havins, the home’s executive director. He sat in the home’s office, surrounded by envelopes and letters. A small red sled was propped against one wall. “We had this one lovely lady who came through and cried during the entire visit. Because it was so significant, you know.”

Wait. A small red sled? Could it be?

“The rest—well, they’re just varied visitors,” Havins continued. “People from the Philippines and Russia, China, Africa, the Middle East. A lot of it is touching. People came here from Kuwait—and they were so grateful.

“Any Iraqis?” He paused to think. “No. No Iraqis. People from Kuwait, Oman, and Dubai. But no Iraqis.”

But the sled! The red sled, a Royal Racer. What about it? To whom did it belong? What was its meaning?

The docent looked surprised at the sudden interest. “It was probably something the historian picked up,” she said. “Or maybe something the family brought with them from New England. It was probably based on photographs we have.”

Havins said, “I don’t know. The family might have used it—or something like it.”

He gazed out the window at a bright December day.

“It used to snow here, you know,” he said. “It used to snow a lot more in West Texas.”

Ruth Pennebaker is an Austin writer, young-adult author, and commentator on KUT, a public radio station at the University of Texas at Austin. She blogs at http://geezersisters.word press.com. Reprinted from the Texas Observer(Jan. 25, 2008). Subscriptions: $32/yr. (24 issues) from 307 W. Seventh St., Austin, TX 78701; www.texasobserver.org.

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