"Frost/Nixon"

The boys and I went to see "Frost/Nixon" yesterday. It was excellent.

During that part of history, I lived in Nancy, KY. The only paper we received as a weekly local, and we only received PBS clearly on the television, and a very snowy NBC channel.

The only thing I remember about Nixon's resignation is that Mom and I were listening to it when Dad called to say he wasn't feeling well and may be coming back to KY from South Carolina early. (Dad worked in three states, KY, OH, SC.)

Mom and I left for Ohio the day after Nixon resigned. Dad headed home, only to become extremely ill in Tennessee. Very long story short, Nixon resigned on Thursday, Mom and I went to Ohio on Friday, by Saturday evening Mom was in Knoxville, Tennessee where dad had been transferred and they were not sure my Dad would live through the night. He had a bleeding ulcer that they could not control. Surgery removed 2/3rds of his stomach. He "died" three times on the operating table. There were many complications, many weeks in the hospital, many more trips to the hospital with emergencies for the next year. I was a sophomore in high school, and my life revolved around what was happening with my dad, and trying to deal with the fact I was living with acquaintances of my family while Mom was with Dad in Tennessee. I was not aware of what was going on in the country.

The Nixon/Frost interviews were aired in May, 1977. I have no idea if Mom and Dad watched the interview when it was aired. I cannot remember when our television reception improved, but we still only received a weekly local paper. I graduated high school in 1977 so I doubt I was paying attention to anything else going on around me.

I know that my parents always voted, and that my Dad really kept up with local politics because of his business, but I don't remember big political discussions in our home, just talk about certain candidates. I do know that Mom always enjoyed talking politics with Raymond, and that once they moved to an area with cable Mom and Dad seemed to really keep up with world news. So it may have just been the isolation factor those first few years in KY.

I also remember being assigned to a debate in English class. I had to prove Nixon a better president than JFK. I won. I remember that my the whole premise of my argument was that JFK had probably abused his power too, but just had not been caught. I backed it up with the rumors of his affairs outside his marriage, and stated that if he did have affairs that showed he did not take vows and oaths too seriously. Of course, this was the last semester of Freshman year and Nixon had not resigned yet.

I found the acting in Frost/Nixon to be remarkable. I went back when I came home and watched some of the clips of the original interview. I am sorry I was not more aware of what was happening at the time. The older I get the more I realize how much has changed in my life, and I hope some day to be able to tell (and bore) my grandchildren with all that I have witnessed.