The big event for the day was a visit to the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. It was a 25-minute drive from the house. We really liked the museum, and it gave the impression of being new, even though it was initially established in 1957. Truman conceived of the idea after he left office, as he had no secret service, no pension, and no job. Times have changed.
The information is presented in video, static displays, and interactive exhibits, but mostly we were impressed with the man. We are not presidential scholars, so we learned or relearned that he was selected to be the Vice Presidential candidate for Franklin Roosevelt’s last election. They won and 82 days later Truman assumed the presidency after Roosevelt’s sudden death from a cerebral hemorrhage.
He then had the unenviable, and seemingly impossible, tasks of trying to end WWII (and the decision to use the bomb, which he hadn’t even known was being developed). The ending of the war brought its own challenges with what to do with Germany, rebuilding Europe, dealing with an increasingly hostile Russia, and then the Korean War as well. Oh, and an attempted assassination and the need to move out of the White House because it needed lots of structural work.
WTF!? God love him. You can question his decisions, but I am just thankful a man of his caliber was on duty through all of that.
Peckish Travels 
2 replies on “Independence — It’s Tru, man (8/9/22)”
A very good friend one told me “It is not widely known that Truman had two signs on his desk. One was ‘the buck stops here’. The other was ‘if you surround yourself with yes men you might as well commit suicide’. Many politicians since have failed to live up to either!
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Yep, it now always seems to be somebody else’s fault and/or it’s “fake news.”
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