Foo - Former IL Senator, Paul Simon dies at 75 today

:(

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=9&u=/ap/20031209/ap_on_go_co/obit_simon

I put this here instead of in the Politics forum because I DON'T want this turned into a political debate. Just feeling sad that a good guy died after undergoing a single bypass surgery for the heart. This is a shock, because the news had been reporting that he was going to do this surgery for about a week now, and they said it was not life threatening.

He will be missed here in Illinois, with his big bow tie and coke-bottled looking glasses... always a strange looking guy, but totally cool when he would talk to people. He sometimes seemed a bit bohemian, but I liked that too.


RIP Paul Simon... :(

Koffee

:(

It is easy to become cynical about politics and politicians. Paul Simon was a rare creature: a politician with integrity. Whether you agreed with his liberal politics or not, you had to respect him as a person.

Two stories I recall about Simon.

While running for office, he was out knocking on doors. He came to a house where the occupant indicated that she was deaf. Simon proceeded to give her a campaign speech in fluent sign language. I think that one of his parents was deaf.

Paul Simon wanted a good biography of Abraham Lincoln. Searching the libraries, he found plenty of biographies, but none that suited his needs. So, he researched and wrote one himself.

I heard him on the radio just last week. I'm sorry to learn of his passing.

Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee, I'm going to Graceland. Oops, wrong Paul Simon. Please don't kill me.:(

Damn.

Graceland, Graceland

weelllll ...

actually, I seem to recall he had a pretty good sense of humor about people confusing him with the singer. weren't they both in a Saturday Night Live sketch about that?

RIP, Mr. Simon.

-alex.

:(
It is easy to become cynical about politics and politicians. Paul Simon was a rare creature: a politician with integrity. Whether you agreed with his liberal politics or not, you had to respect him as a person.

I disagreed with just about everything Paul Simon stood for. I would have never voted for the man even if my life depended on it. However, he was sincere in his beliefs and he could disagree without being disagreeable.

While I don't think he reached the level of "statesmen" as I think Daniel Patrick Moynihan did, he was a good guy.

We met Sen. Paul Simon at a convention in Miami Beach in 1988.We admired him and worked for him.
Illinois has a traditon of furthering those with Lincolnesque mystique... Paul Simon, Everett Dirksen, and the Stevenson's all met this criteria..His loss makes us sad...
On the other hand, Illinois has its machine elements, also.Strange mix.

The death of Paul Simon saddens me. I love the quote from him "Government is not the enemy, Government is simply a tool that can be used wisely or unwisely. ... We can do better, my friends."

The death of Paul Simon saddens me. I love the quote from him "Government is not the enemy, Government is simply a tool that can be used wisely or unwisely. ... We can do better, my friends."

Yep, I remember him making that statement. He always had the right attitude about govenrnent.

Koffee