With President Ford, it was "what you see is what you get." A decent man and as one person mentioned earlier, an adult. A leader who didn't have to be reminded he was a leader. He didn't need the pomp and circumstance to set him apart. His character set him apart. He worked FOR our country, and I only hope now our leaders will be reminded of his humility and his willingness to do the hard job of governing our country by working together. He was a good man.

I remember President Ford as a "down-to-earth" man who helped this country recover from Watergate, disengage from Vietnam and allowed a former President his dignity in stepping down, however wrong his actions. He was one of the last great Presidents in the respect that he worked for the country - not for his political party. He never spoke down to us, never underestimated our ability to comprehend difficult issues we faced and the difficult decisions he made on our behalf. It's hard to imagine how far the Republican Party has fallen to it's current leadership where the idea of "working for the benefit of our country" has been replaced with "working for the benefit of our party".
Our current White House, Senate and Congress should have taken lessons from President Ford's leadership; then we could all hold our heads up when we say "we are Americans". President Ford earned a top spot in the long list of our presidents.

President Ford was a good, decent man. He supported his wife through two difficult illnesses, and raised four children who rarely make headlines or tabloids. All of the anecdotal material I have read shows him to have been kind and generous of nature.

God Bless you, Gerald Ford; Rest in Peace, Mr. President.

Thinking of Gerald Ford and his brief tenure of the nations highest office. I can only lament the loss of the last adult to lead our country. He cleaned up the mess of Vietnam, reclaimed the respect of the office of president, and did so with a quiet grace reminiscent of Lincoln. God speed Mister President.

IT took a special man to take the reigns of power without any public mandate, yet Gerald Ford led the country out of one of it's darkest periods ever. He showed a steady hand, and tough but fair policies. We all owe him a debt of gratitude. Prayers and thanks to the Ford family...

Back in the early 80's my husband was a charter bus driver and was assigned to pick up the a very well known rock band at the Denver Airport. While waiting for them he went to get coffee and a gentleman who was also waiting there asked him how it was. Tastes like s#!t if you ask me he replied. The gentleman got his coffee, and upon tasting it agreed. Suddenly my husband looked over and recognizing Betty Ford, he turned very red and stammered.. Oh you were the President! Mr Ford laughed and agreed that indeed he had been.
However the story doesn't end there, about a week later he happened to be in Vail and wandered over to a park to watch a softball game. Suddenly a man waved at him and invited him to join the game, yep, it was Gerald Ford. My husband declined, but to this day loves to tell the tale of how gracious Mr Ford was.

I was on a commercial flight with President Ford in the mid-eighties (unaware of the fact until landing). Sitting in the back with other hardened business travelers, someone in the group noticed upon landing that several Lincoln Continentals had pulled up to the plane. I waited to deplane until I was asked to do so, watching from the window in order to determine the reason for the unusual activity. Apparently the Secret Service did not know I was still on the plane because as I walked down the flight steps to the tarmac level I was instantly surrounded by several serious men in suits, shades, and earphones. In that moment I saw what I was unable to see from the plane: standing directly in front of me was Gerald Ford. Instinctively, I smiled and greeted him, "Good afternoon Mr. President!" Grinning into a full smile, chuckling out loud, he greeted me, "Good afternoon to you! It's great to see you." I replied in kind. He laughed and I laughed, but I kept walking, head down, as the Secret Service closed around the President and escorted him to a waiting Lincoln, all the while keeping eyes on me as I proceeded into the airport terminal. In a flash, we were just two guys in an awkward situation, both seeing some humor in it. In that odd moment the convincingly genuine smile and the sparkle in his eyes almost made me wish I had voted Republican just once. Almost.

As a young teenager and 4-H club member, I had the honor of meeting President Ford at the United States Capital. We were being given a group tour and was being moved from one 'color' room to another, when without warning, a side door opened and he walked out.I had just mentioned to another 4-Her that one of the aides had the same last name as my brother-in-law, only it was spelled differently. President Ford walked over to me and asked me to please repeat what I had just said. Upon repeating it, he gently placed his hand on my shoulder and said he would be happy to introduce me to him! I was thrilled beyond measure. He hand, firm but gentle, allowed me the opportunity to see past the 'Man of Office' to the loving husband and father. We've lost yet another leader, one of dignity, honour, unselfishness. Good bye Sir.

I well understand what an unassuming man President Ford was. I have only met one President in my life and that was Gerald Ford. In 1990, I was playing in the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational, a golf fund raiser, in Palm Desert, CA. Just before time to tee off for the event, I rushed back over to hit a couple of balls at the driving range. I arrived at about the same time as an older gentleman who was not recognizable to me with hat and sunglasses. We were both waiting to hit balls. When a slot opened, I looked to him and offered to let him hit and he said, "No, you were before me," so I stepped forward and was teeing up a ball when I looked back and saw someone rushing over to the gentleman and saying: "I'm sorry Mr. President we'll get you a spot right away". It was Gerald Ford and I felt like and idiot.