I Like the Cold. I’m Not a Real American Either

February 1963: 60 years ago, it wasn’t too cold for me (left) to plan a military overthrow of the US government with my brother Russ (right). Fourth grade took priority and we were beaten to the punch later that year.

When newly-sworn President Lyndon Johnson marched in the funeral procession for murdered President John F. Kennedy, reporters asked him why he wanted to risk walking in public. Johnson reportedly said “I’d rather die than be afraid to die”.

It was a quote I read in 1963 when I was nine. It guided me through life, as did the more romantic mutation, “I’d rather live than be afraid to…