Socks and celebration as city mourns its hometown hero
Hermann Square was filled with sock-tapping music Monday night to pay tribute to Houston’s hometown hero and footwear aficionado, President George H.W. Bush.
Mayor Sylvester Turner was among the who’s who of local dignitaries who donned colorful socks to honor the Bush family patriarch who he hailed as a lover of all things Houston, from Astros baseball to its famed barbecue and music.
“Houston was the launching pad for his political career,” Turner said, adding that Bush’s defeat in the 1992 presidential election did not change how the city felt about him.
“Houston welcomed him back with open arms. He embraced this city and we embraced him back,” the mayor told the crowd outside City Hall.
Turner capped the evening with a message for the former president, who died Friday night at his Houston home.
“When you walk through the pearly gates, from all of Houston, say hello to Barbara,” Turner added, referring to the love of Bush’s life, who died earlier this year.
On Tuesday, Bush’s body was flown to Washington for a state funeral and will be flown back for another service Wednesday in the Bayou City before burial at the Bush Museum and Library at Texas A&M.
On Monday night, politicians packed the square’s front rows to watch the hastily planned celebration of Bush’s life with performances by the Houston Symphony, gospel singer Yolanda Adams and the legendary Tejano band La Mafia.
Several of the thousand-plus attendees brought a spare pair of socks to donate to more than 4,000 homebound seniors through Meals on Wheels.
Attendees were encouraged to wear colorful socks as an ode to Bush’s penchant for the accessory.
Boxes set up by Interfaith Ministries began overflowing with socks of all sizes, colors and textures. Some pairs were decked with rainbow trout, cartoon characters and holiday cheer. The socks will be delivered as holiday packages alongside their meals.
“It’s a great tribute to 41. These will be warm meals and warm toes for the holidays,” said Michael Schibley, an Interfaith Ministries volunteer overseeing one of the donation boxes along McKinney Street.
Mike Meaux, a former State Department worker during President George W. Bush’s administration, rolled up his khaki slacks to show off the most colorful socks he owned. They were hot pink.
He was proud of the adopted Houstonite and called the elder Bush one of the “last gentleman presidents we’ve had.”
Lorie Fortson jogged to the concert from her downtown pad to donate a pair of socks while wearing a knee-high pair adorned with Bush’s signature.
“I only brought one, which I regret now,” Fortson said.
In a corner of the park, away from the dignitaries, Bernie Clinton, 65, wore socks with sandals and danced with his fiancé, Kate MacDougall, 59, while La Mafia crooned “Vida.”
Clinton remembered Bush as the man who was in the White House when he arrived from Australia to work in the oil industry.
“It was an exciting time,” Clinton said, sitting alongside the woman he plans to marry next month. He became a U.S. citizen in October.