Visit to Reagan Library - part 4

Part 4 of things that stood out to me:
 
- I had forgotten that he was president when the Challenger disaster happened. There was a video showing school children watching as it blew up - of course it was a big deal for school children because a teacher was on board. Some quotes from his address after that disaster:

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.

.....

 The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

 (If you are interested, as I was, what he was quoting from, you might want to look up "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gillespie_Magee,_Jr.)

- I had forgotten the weight and anxiety of the Cold War, the reality of a divided Germany ("Mr Gorbachev, Tear down this wall!"). I don't think I understood or comprehended the negotiations that went on during that time. There was information about the various talks that he had with Mr Gorbachev, the frustrations with thinking that an agreement was about to be made and then suddenly a requirement that the United States would need to take down the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) - which according to the information there was intended to be solely defensive, and Reagan indicated that he would provide all the development/blueprints so USSR could build their own if they wanted to. Just the thought of a time when USSR was the feared enemy...

Video of Reagan's speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate

"Tear down this wall!"

 Many of his staff recommended that he not endanger potential agreements with USSR with these words, but others encouraged him to proceed, and proceed he did.

A preserved portion of the now-dismantled Berlin wall stands outside the Museum

- Of course, Reagan was known for being a horseman, rancher, lover of the outdoors. There were many items identifying this - I didn't get really good pictures but of a couple...

A life-size statue of a mounted Reagan on the grounds

A presidential seal done with finishing nails, gloves, boots, and brand from the Reagan ranch, Rancho del Cielo

 - Reagan's last communication to the American people was in 1994 when he shared that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. He subsequently died in 2004, and was buried at the grounds of the Library.

His burial spot on the grounds

 

The views were beautiful.

 

Gorgeous!

On our way back to the freeway, I had to catch a picture of this one cross street...

In case you can't read it... it is "Easy Street" - who knew that Easy Street would be that easy to find???