LM, Episode 1236, 5/9/23, 75, 5/8/20, Give ‘em hell

Yesterday I mentioned it was President Truman’s birthday and one of my favorite things about him is he and his wife, Bess, had a great sense of humor.

He had a penchant for profanity and he loved to tell the story about a reporter asking Mrs. Truman, “‘Can’t you get the president to stop saying manure.”

Mrs. Truman responds, “You have no idea how long it took me to get him to say manure.”

During the 1948 presidential campaign, people would shout, “Give ‘em hell, Harry.” President would say, “I never give anyone hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.”

One day after leaving the White House, President Truman walked into their house in Independence, MO and Bess burning his letters. He said, “Bess, think of history.”

She said, “I am Harry,” and kept on burning.

When asked how he advises his only child, Margaret, he said, “the best way to give advice to your children is find out what they want, then advice them to do it.”

My wife, Twyla, and I are convinced the only way we have survived our 37 years together is we can laugh during life’s most difficult times and I’m sure Harry and Bess Truman would agree because they never forgot laughter matters.