In rare interview, 41 praises adopted home
Editor’s note: Ken Hoffman interviewed President George H.W. Bush for the Houston Chronicle’s November 2016 Luxe Life magazine.
He is Houston’s president of the United States — our guy, who made it all the way to the highest office in the land. And made us proud.
George H.W. Bush came to Houston in the late 1950s because this is where the money was; he makes no bones about that. He was a young man in the oil business. He ran the Zapata Offshore Co., an offshore drilling operation.
Bush, born in New England and a Yale graduate, threw himself into wild west Houston politics. He became chairman of the Republican Party in Harris County, then a congressman from the 7th District of Texas.
He was the first-ever Republican congressman from Houston.
Bush was named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, then chairman of the Republican National Committee. He served as envoy to China and director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He was President Ronald Reagan’s vice president from 1981 to 1989.
Then, in 1989, George Herbert Walker Bush took the oath of office as the 41st president of the United States.
Now a personal note and some background.
I got to meet President Bush and first lady Barbara Bush about 20 years ago. Chuck Norris, the TV star, was hosting a charity tennis event, and the organizer asked if I would play. President Bush, Mrs. Bush, even Ranger their dog would be there, as well as Chris Evert, a few other tennis pros and entertainment celebrities. I said sure, absolutely. That afternoon, I got to play a doubles match. My partner, after a brief conversation with the Secret Service, was President Bush. I met Mrs. Bush. Ranger, too. Pretty cool. I remember hitting a good shot and the president high-fivin’ me.
I played tennis a few more times with the president. He invited me to his office. We talked about the Berlin Wall coming down. Bush was president on that day. I was lucky enough to be in Berlin when it happened. Bush showed me around his office on Memorial Drive. I met his staff.
He signed a bunch of photos for me. On one of us playing tennis, he wrote, “Thanks for carrying a heavy load.” On a photo of him sitting with my 3-year-old son, he wrote, “Have a very happy life, big guy, love, George Bush.” Wow, right? I’m not going to get into politics here. He has his admirers and detractors. But I’ll paraphrase a passage from a recent Bush biography by Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham:
“Bush embodies virtues that seem jarringly out of place today … restraint, modesty, willingness to compromise, reluctance to blame others or claim credit for oneself.”
They don’t make ’em like that anymore.
In the book, “Destiny and Power,” Bush is quoted asking, “Well, what’s wrong with trying to help people, what’s wrong with trying to bring peace, what’s wrong with trying to make the world a little better?”
A statesman, indeed. In his post-presidency, Bush has become a bringer of help to parts of the world that need aid and hope for the future. He is a dignified, wonderful man whom I admire. It still amazes me that I got to meet — and know a little — a president.
What makes it extra amazing … it’s this president.
OK, today. In each issue, we ask a Houstonian what our city means to them. A lot of famous people live in Houston. Because of my job, I do know a few of them.
But, let’s take a shot and try something special.
President George H.W. Bush is 92 years old. You may have noticed that he doesn’t “do” interviews anymore. For many reasons. For one, it’s a presidential election year, and he was staying above and far away from it.
But I reached out. “I’d like to ask President Bush about Houston. Tell him that I was his tennis partner that time we beat his son Neil and Chris Evert. Hopefully he’ll remember me.”
President Bush remembered me. I know, wow again, right?
Here you go: a rare interview with “41.”
Q: How did it happen that you came to Houston?
A: I had started in the offshore oil business and needed to be closer to my rigs. We moved here in 1959 and lived over off Chimney Rock.
Q: What were your first impressions of Houston?
A: The open and friendly people. Houstonians have big hearts. We felt welcomed right away.
Q: What do you think are Houston’s strengths?
A: The aggressive, can-do spirit of the people. Nothing is too big for Houstonians. I love that.
Q: You could have lived anywhere. What kept you in Houston?
A: Money, if I am being honest — the opportunity I had to make a decent living. I loved the challenge and the action of the oil business.”
Q: What are some of your favorite things to do in Houston?
A: Going to Texans and Astros games. The rodeo. I used to love running in Memorial Park. Q: Favorite restaurants? A: Too many to name, but we love Morton’s and The Palm. I also love Tex-Mex, including Molina’s and Ninfa’s. DaMarco’s for liver. Of course, I loved Otto’s BBQ when it was still here.
Q: How long did it take a Northern guy to adjust to living in Houston?
A: No adjustment needed. By the time we moved to Houston, we had lived in Texas a decade.
Q: What are your hopes for Houston in the future? Challenges?
A: I couldn’t be prouder of the strong, constructive ties between the various communities in Houston. There is a level of trust and goodwill among Houstonians that other big cities do not have. I hope that never changes.
Q: When was the first time you realized that “I’m from Houston?”
A: Not sure, but by the time I ran for Harris County Republican Party chairman in 1962, I knew Houston was home … even if being a lonely Republican here back in those days was considered by some locals to be a “hangin’ offense.”
Q: Do you consider yourself a Houstonian now?
A: I don’t want to be less than kind and gentle, Ken, but that’s a dumb question.
“I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don’t always agree with them.” — George H.W. Bush “I am not one who flamboyantly believes in throwing a lot of words around.” – George H.W. Bush