COLUMBUS: Folks are getting back to work, back to watching baseball and football, back to normal on about everything but airplane travel and spending money. They may not be spending money, but they sure are donating it. Over $500 million has already been contributed. Now about those airplanes, there’s no safer way of going any great distance. I’ll be flying to Oklahoma in November for a couple of days at Claremore. Shucks, if I couldn’t fly, I may as well just walk. Today our President asked us to support the airlines and get on with our vacations and business meetings. Back in 1933, or maybe it was ’34, our First Lady, Mrs. Roosevelt, flew commercial from Washington to Los Angeles. That was the first time it had ever been done by a President or his wife, and it did more to build confidence in air travel than all the flying done previously by Lindbergh, Mitchell and Rogers combined. Perhaps Laura Bush can arrange to fly to California and have the same effect as Eleanor. If she can’t get away, I bet you Barbara Bush would do it. Even if you’re a bit scared, climbing back on an airplane is just like riding a bike or a horse. Once you get used to it, you never forget the thrill and excitement.

Once you’ve been to New York, you never forget the excitement of that either. Naturally we’ll always remember September 11 and the seven thousand killed and thousands injured there and in Washington and Pennsylvania. Mayor Giuliani is inviting all of us to visit New York, to go to a Broadway play, visit a museum, watch a baseball game, shop. He’s doing a wonderful job leading his city through the crisis. We’re all pulling for him, and we’re willing to do everything we can to help. We’ll go, we’ll visit, and we’ll spend. We just have one request of the mayor. Please don’t ask us to cheer for the Yankees.

(If that little attempt at humor offends you, I apologize. It’s only been two weeks, and you may need more time. If so, come back and read this in November and laugh then. It will be funnier after the Yankees have won the World Series.)

Everybody is supporting President Bush, saying he has been quite, well, downright Presidential. Ninety percent say they approve of the way he is handling the situation, along with Mr. Cheney and Powell, Rumsfield and Ashcroft.

Democrats and Republicans in Washington are all pulling together. Of course it’s easy for ’em to all agree when they are spending money. When they have to figure out where the money is coming from, that’s when they’re likely to separate.

Defeating this Evil is the important task at hand. Taking care of Bin Laden and the Taliban won’t be easy, but it may not take as long as people fear. Bob Hope says he’s ready to entertain the troops at Christmas. Have you noticed, nobody has said a word lately against Prayer in schools.

Historic quotes from Will Rogers:
“Well, they finally stopped us from sending Marines to every war we could hear of. They are having one in Afghanistan. The thing will be over before Congress can pronounce it, much less find out where it is located. It seems the King over there thought he was adopting modern ideas by limiting his subjects to one wife per each. No wonder they threw him out. He was just old-fashioned and didn’t know it.”
DT #748, Dec. 19, 1928.

“If your time is worth anything, travel by air. If not, you might just as well walk.”
DT #389, Oct. 20, 1927.

“If there is a safer mode of transportation (than airplanes) I have never found it. Even horseback. I got bucked off the other day.”
DT #1018, Oct. 30, 1929.