Old movies and Ronald Reagan

Our library has been accumulating a pretty good selection of DVDs lately, many of which are old movies. We've recently watched a couple that were quite good: Santa Fe Trail and Stage Door Canteen. Although the first sounds like a Western, it's really more of a pre-Civil War movie, with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Haviland, and Ronald Reagan as three of the main characters. The story line revolves mostly around the abolitionist John Brown. I'm not sure how historically accurate it was, not being as much of a history buff as I wish I was . . . but it was a good story, and we especially enjoyed seeing Ronald Reagan as a young actor. Stage Door Canteen was also very enjoyable. As we watched it, we were so impressed by the patriotism and unity that was displayed by the young men and women of our grandparents' generation. How much of that has been lost today! This movie had a lot of funny moments, but also some sad ones.

Speaking of Ronald Reagan, some friends recently sent us an email with some Reagan quotes, which we really enjoyed reading. Here are a few of them, just for the fun of it. I sure wish we saw more of his brand of politicians nowadays.

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

"I've laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting."

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."