Of all the people I thought it unlikely I would ever write about, Marian Robinson would rank pretty high.
Mrs. Robinson is the "first grandma," brought to Washington by her daughter in order to continuinglooking after her grandaughters at the White House. The widow of Frasier Robinson (to the left in this picture, taken when their daughter Michelle was a baby), it seemed like a nice, small story, a curious sidelight.
I'm wondering if we shouldn't make it a little more.
First because, as The New York Times reports, Mrs. Robinson is having a good time. She has gone out to the theater, she has seen the Washington scene, and she has taken to it as it has taken to her.
Second because Mrs. Robinson is an excellent role model. A former sprinter, she and her husband raised two lovely children, she nursed her husband through his long-term (losing) battle with MS, and she seems to be an excellent grandmother, a good person. The perfect image for our aging society.
So I was thinking…
One of the big problems kids have at the White House is that they're turned into celebrities, often against their will, when they're really too young to handle it. The grandkids' desire for a puppy has been front-page news, and their natural limitations in caring for said puppy has been all over the newspapers. They don't deserve that kind of treatment.But Mrs. Robinson does. I don't mean we should get all up in her face. I mean the media and the town should make a gentle, loving fuss over her. She deserves it, and she can handle it. Let Marian Robinson serve as our nation's black princess, take that burden from the grandkids and let them be as normal as they can possibly be.
And who knows? Maybe she'll meet a nice older gentleman, a retired man of refinement and character. If the nation is going to get a White House wedding in the next 8 years, she seems like our best hope. And such happiness couldn't happen to a nicer person. Can you imagine how much fun the media would have with such a story, and how much of the burden of publicity it would take from the rest of the family?
So here's to you Mrs. Robinson. Jesus loves you more than you will know. Ho ho ho. God rest you please, Mrs. Robinson. Heaven holds a place for those who pray.
