The silver cord has finally broken for a man who lived the fullest of lives. William F. Buckley, Jr. died today at 82.
On a cloudy night in 1987, as a sergeant at the end of the cold war, I was driving an eight-hour night shift with a truck full of barbed-wire through the streets of West Berlin between Andrews Compound and Doughboy Field. It was part of an exercise for logistics measurement so we never unloaded, just turned around and drove back and forth again. Fortunately the giant diesel beast had a cassette player and I brought my new copy of William F. Buckley's book "Right Reason" on tape and listened the entire time.
I missed the prematurely-abbreviated "Jaunt Around The Globe at Mach 2" on the Concorde with Buckley that year, but I did get started on his Blackford Oakes spy series with "Stained Glass" and named my first son after one of his characters. It wasn't until fifteen years later that I met Mr. Buckley in person after attending a debate at the Moody Church in Chicago and got to talk with him for a few minutes. He was obviously tired after the event and the interviews that followed and I truly appreciated his graciously taking the time.
His thoughts were always on a higher level and seemed to look beyond the superficial even making more mundane matters seem elevated. In fact, one of Buckley's greatest books is "Nearer my God" about the victories and struggles of his life of faith. You don't get any nearer than he is now.
