LM, Episode 1235, 5/8/23, Happy Birthday President Truman.

The pandemic was my dad’s dream come true. The government was telling him to stay home and watch TV. When I’d call to see what he was doing, he’d say, “I’m watching TV ‘cause I’m a patriot.” When he got his first stimulus check, he calls me, saying, “I just got $1,200 from the government to watch TV. God bless America.”

Dad has always been laid back. In fact, the only thing I ever remember him making me do is take typing in high school because he was convinced it saved his life.

During the Korean War, he was drafted in the Marines. When he finished basic training and just before they were to be sent to Korea to die, they asked if they had any special skills. Dad said he could type. He spent his entire time in the Marines as a teletype operator at Cherry Point in North Carolina. He said the only danger he saw were the alligators in Slocumb’s Creek.

Mom and Dad said one thing they didn’t mention during their time in the Marines was that they were from Missouri because the unpopular President Truman was also from Missouri. Truman had numerous problems with General Douglas MacArthur who was leading the troops in Korea. MacArthur thought the war should be escalated and Truman feared it would lead to World War III. Truman ordered him to stop, even flying to Wake Island for an in person meeting with MacArthur, but the problems persisted.

Finally, President Truman asked his Secretary of Defense, General George Marshall, what he would do. When General Marshall said, “I’d fire him,” Truman did just that, igniting a firestorm. General MacArthur returned to a hero’s welcome, there were parades, he spoke to Congress where he uttered the famous words, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”

Truman’s approval rating dipped to 22%. In spite of the rancor, Truman told his staff, “It will die down in a month or so.” Sure enough, it did.

President Truman did what he thought was right and, when he made a decision, he took responsibility and accepted the consequences for it. He had a famous sign on his desk which said, “The buck stops here.” He also used to say, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Today is President Truman’s birthday. As leaders, we will get criticism no matter what we do, but if we do what we know in our hearts is right, we can sleep well at night.

And, as for me taking typing, it was the right thing to do because while all my friends were in shop class with 29 other guys talking about girls, I was in typing with 29 girls.

Thank you for listening and always remember laughter matters.