"You just don't luck into things as much as you'd like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it's friendships or opportunities." ~ Barbara Bush
Former First Lady Barbara Bush (1925-2018) was born Barbara Pierce on this day and grew up in Rye, New York, the daughter of magazine publisher Marvin Pierce. She met her husband, George, at a dance when she was 16 years old.
"Believe in something larger than yourself," she once said.
One of the most popular First Ladies of all time, known for her forthright wit, when her husband lost his bid for re-election, a campaign advisor said, "We made a big mistake; we should have run Barbara."
After leaving the White House in 1993, Mrs. Bush continued to be an advocate for family literacy. Through The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, founded in 1989, she has taken "step-by-step" action to share the joy of reading by helping others to read, write, and comprehend.
To generate money for the foundation, in 1990 Mrs. Bush wrote the bestseller, Millie's Book, a look at life at the Bush White House.
"Poor literacy skills," said Bush, "directly, and indirectly, are linked to crime, teenage pregnancy, drug, and child abuse."
Mrs. Bush's solution for a better America? Read to children and grandchildren. "There is no better way to spend time with your children and grandchildren than to read to them. It has been proven that children who are read to have a higher vocabulary level and have a love for reading."
