George H.W. Bush's family moved to Connecticut shortly after he was born, and the man who would become the 41st president of the United States maintained a nutmegger's sensibility throughout his life.
Although he came from privilege in Greenwich, he dedicated his life to serving his fellow Americans--as a Navy pilot who was shot down in World War II, as a U.S. Representative in Texas, as head of the CIA, as vice president and as president.
But he was modest and humble, despite his patrician upbringing.
Instead of publishing a memoir after leaving office, which might have seemed self-serving, Mr. Bush in 1999 published a collection of notes and thank-yous he'd written titled All the Best, George Bush.
The Hartford Courant was a recipient of one of Mr. Bush's notes. On the occasion of the newspaper's 225th anniversary, the staff received a letter that read in part:
"Nothing is more vital to good government and to the well-being of any community than that each and every citizen be well informed. We look to our newspapers to fulfill this responsibility and to give focus to our lives and to the world around us, especially today when the pace of events can seem overwhelming. Other means of communications might be quicker and more vivid, but reading enables us to take our time, to think, to question, and even to have the luxury of doing it over again. We would feel lost without our newspapers."
In these challenging times, Mr. Bush's note resonates all the louder.
Editorial on 12/04/2018