In 1960, Richard Nixon visited Bay City, Michigan on a campaign stop. He was vice president at the time of course with Eisenhower. I had written him (in eighth grade after the famed Kitchen Debate with Khruschev) and he wrote me back, a personal letter with all kinds of stuff in the envelope and sent it via my middle school. The principal opened it with the local TV there and I was a celeb of sorts for a day. When tricky Dick came to town I was ushered in to meet him and someplace in the Bay City Times there is a photo. In a pique of spite, I tossed it out when he was going to be impeached. Tonight, now some 41 years ago, Dick went on TV and announced he was resigning the office of President. I was conducting a performance of Annie Get Your Gun in one of those old Ohio River Theaters....all the towns along the Ohio (or most of them) .... had theaters that touring acts
would play from the old Lyceum circuit to vaudeville. Anyway, it was a grand place. In the middle of Act I or thereabouts with Annie singing "ya' can't get a fella with a gun"... the stage manager walked out and stopped the show. He brought out a long extension cord and a transistor radio, told everyone to be quiet, tuned in WLW radio out of Cincinnati and we heard Nixon's speech announcing he would resign "effective at noon tomorrow". With no ceremony, when the broadcast ended, the manager walked out, retrieved the radio and the cord and we went back to the song.
