George H. W. Bush left the White House under a whithering barrage of attacks from political and personal enemies who managed to destroy his credibility in office despite his many successes. And while I was never an enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Bush, my admiration for him has grown over the years, especially during the decade I have lived here in Houston. You see, I have had the opportunity to see him (and his wife, Barbara) in situations where he is not "The Former President Of The United States", but rather as simply one more member of a diverse and vibrant community.

Take this spring, during RodeoHouston. My wife is disabled, so we often arrive early on evenings we attend the event so that we can get good parking and avoid crowds. One night we arrived to find the Lil' Rustlers activities for special children still underway on the floor of Reliant Center, with physically and mentally challenged children experiencing the thrill of participating in rodeo events with real cowboys and cowgirls. And at the end of it all, presenting them with gifts and trophies, stood the 41st President of the United States and his wife. Every kid got a hug and a photo -- and there was not a press photographer in sight, and no mention of it appeared in the media. Why not? Because that is the sort of people that the Bushes are.

Which leads me to this article on how a father watches his son bear the same burdens he did in the highest office in the land.

There are times in the life of George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd, that people, perfect strangers, come up to him and say the harshest things — words intended to comfort but words that wind up only causing pain.

“I love you, sir, but your son’s way off base here,” they might say, according to Ron Kaufman, a longtime adviser to Mr. Bush, who has witnessed any number of such encounters — perhaps at a political fund-raiser, or a restaurant dinner, a chance meeting on the streets of Houston or Kennebunkport, Me. They are, he says, just one way the presidency of the son has taken a toll on the father.

“It wears on his heart,” Mr. Kaufman said, “and his soul.”

God bless you, sir -- and your son as well.

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