A Different Drummer
My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan
Chapter OneThe Early Years
I stood alone in the comfortable office Ronald Reagan had used since leaving the White House. He had selected this particular office, I think, for its unforgettable view of the Pacific Ocean. This is the panorama every Southern Californian dreams of: the winding coast from Malibu to Long Beach, covered in an early-morning fog that breaks around noon most days and ends with a stunning sunset over the water. Except for his years in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., this was the view that Reagan had known and loved all his adult life. His home in Bel Air, his office at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, the getaway at Rancho De Cielo in the Santa Barbara Hills all opened up to essentially the same scene. His and Nancy's final resting place, a tomb built for the two of them at the library, had been chosen in part because it looked across the Ventura coast to Point Mugu.
The office I was standing in was all Reagan as well: the chair he used as governor, a painting behind the desk by Charles Reiffle titled Desert Below Jul ... read full excerpt from: A Different Drummer ebook
