Lu Young, 67, was a fixture at the Alaska Republican's Washington, D.C., office, where she greeted guests and worked with him. She was Gwich'in Athabascan born and raised in Fort Yukon.
Her death is a shock, said Curtis Thayer, a former aide to Don Young.
"She was such a part of (Don)'s life, always at his side," Thayer said.
"They had the classic love affair," said former Anchorage mayor George Wuerch.
"No question, the two of them were devoted to each other for many, many years," said Wuerch, who knew the couple for decades.
Her death is a shock, said Curtis Thayer, a former aide to Don Young.
"She was such a part of (Don)'s life, always at his side," Thayer said.
"They had the classic love affair," said former Anchorage mayor George Wuerch.
"No question, the two of them were devoted to each other for many, many years," said Wuerch, who knew the couple for decades.
I could not disagree with Don Young's politics more, but his love for his wife was evident to all.
I offer my condolences to Congressman Young in this time of grief.
Sincere condolences to Don Young.
ReplyDeletePace Mrs. Young.
Gryphen, I read through a number of posts that talk about threats to you. Some of the comments in support of you were rather rabib themselves. I think we must no lower ourselves to this type of behavior. The more rabid they get the more calm and logical we should remain. My philosophy has always been "kill them with kindness."
ReplyDeleteBetter yet ignore them. Better still is to tighten up your standards regarding the types of comments you will approve. Free speech is one thing, but that doesn't mean I can yell "fire" in a theater.
If the other side makes a point without venom then allow it, but leave out the ones yelling fire. Again, many thanks.
Livvy - I agree with you 100%. I enjoy your blog Gryphen, but the tone of civility needs to be raised amongst your commenters. A couple in particular, who are regular blog posters, know better but still allow themselves to be incited by the whacko bots.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I appreciate in one way that you let dissenting opinions be posted, I believe they have gone far beyond dissenting and they are just the same old tiresome trolls who we have been dealing with for almost a year now.
They don't have anything useful to say, they don't offer opposing views with back up information - they just snarl and gnash their troll teeth and I, for one, am sick of them. Like so many others, I've tried and tried to engage, question, even be kind to these trolls but we all know by now that they couldn't care less.
I'm reading comments less and less, and reading blogs who allow them less and less just because I'm done with the creeps. They've dug their own hole under the bridge, with a lot of help from higher ups who manipulate these desperate folks, and I just don't give a darn anymore since they do not take responsibility for having one single coherent thought.
Oh I'm so sorry! I meant to state how sorry I am for Rep. Young to have lost his lovely wife. She looks like a beauty, with an incredible smile, and it's very clear they were the best of friends and beyond. This would be a very hard time and I hope he has a lot of loving support.
ReplyDeleteGyphen,
ReplyDeleteYou are a good person. Thanks for all you do. My condolences to Congressman Young as well.
Livvy and Snowing in Alaska,
I agree with both of you. We should not let the "whacko bots" -as SIA calls them- bring us down to their level. But I do feel that sometimes we fail to defend ourselves and we come across as weak to these hateful people. Sometimes you just have to hit a bully in the mouth to make him/her leave you alone. I for one am glad that a few of our loyal posters decided to hit 'em in the mouth. Remember their strategy is to always prey on the weak and the poor with scare tactics. It's what they do best. In this war of guns we must stop fighting with just swords. We need to add guns to arsenal. A few of our posters did just that and I am damn sure proud of them.
NakedTruth
Naked Truth
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, too - it's a lesson that had to be learned in order to deal with these whacko bots. I just find the troll smiters at Margaret & Helen's to be creative & effective - they are not ones I would try to verbally spar with! But they don't swear and don't tend to use name calling.
I tend to think a humorous approach often times is just as effective! They can't stand to be giggled at - you can just "see" their blood pressure going up.
My sincerest condolences to you, sir.
ReplyDeleteJohn Bowman
Homewood, IL