Reagan Web sites give insight into former President’s life

The news coverage of President Ronald Reagan’s death has been extensive and in depth. My first thought was that an Internet Safari column dedicated to the man would be overkill.

Then, I had a second thought. Although the newspapers, television networks, and radio stations have carried thousands of stories this past week; I’ll bet very few have actually mentioned information about the “Gipper” that’s available on the Internet. And, since that is what this column is all about (the Internet that is) then by golly, I’ll just write about him anyway.

No matter the party affiliation, no matter the belief system just about everyone can find something really good that came from the legacy of Ronald Reagan. He believed in his fellow man, divine guidance and helping the downtrodden.

If you visit Google, you will find almost a million and half references to Ronald Wilson Reagan that is a lot of information. If you make your first Internet stop at the virtual Whitehouse, you can read Reagan’s biography just jump over to http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ and click on his picture, which is posted along with all of the other past presidents and our current one.

The Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library and Museum Web site can be found at http://www.reaganlibrary.net/ - the site is quite extensive and could possibly hold your attention for a couple of hours.

If you’d be interested in reading some of the speeches that the former president gave during his time in public office, visit http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/resource.htm

And you’ll have complete access to them.

Currently, the Time magazine Web site at http://www.time.com is providing a virtual ton of information about the former president, his wife Nancy, and his legacy. If, by the time you reach the site the information on the homepage has changed, just look for the “Time 100” link at the top of the page. Reagan is listed within the category of the top 100 most influential people in the world.

Should that come to a surprise to anyone? If you visit the Internet Movie Database at http://www.imdb.com and then type in “Ronald Reagan”, you will quickly learn that the man appeared in almost 60 films. Interested in reading a good book about the 40th president? Just jump over to http://www.amazon.com and you’ll have access to hundreds of them. President Reagan was very well known for his sense of humor and his quick wit. In fact, on the day that he was shot in 1981, he told his wife Nancy “Honey, I forgot to duck.” If you would like to read some of his more famous quotes, just navigate over to http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Ronald_Reagan/ and you’ll be well entertained.

Lastly, this column would not be complete if I did not mention a Web site affiliated with Alzheimer’s disease. Check out the Alzheimer’s Association site at http://www.alz.org/

Because of Alzheimer’s disease, President Ronald Reagan spent the last 10 years of his life having his brain slowly deteriorate. The man, who was so well spoken become so silent. The mind that worked so quickly and efficiently became painfully still. That generous, outgoing, dedicated human being became a mere empty shell.

Not a very graceful exit for someone who contributed so much to his country - and to the world.

Tom DiFrancesca III is a freelance columnist and a resident of Clovis. He can be reached at tomdifran

@ureach.com or http://www.trackertom.com