[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20452]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN MEMORY OF WILBUR MYRICK, A GREAT AMERICAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Myrick) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor tonight to honor the 
memory of a great American, my father-in-law, Wilbur Myrick. He saw a 
lot of change during his 95 years on this Earth.
  He lived during the time when indoor plumbing replaced outhouses and 
water wells, when wooden stoves were replaced by electric stoves, and 
when food no longer needed to be cooked fresh, but could be 
refrigerated and cooked in a microwave. He saw transportation change 
from a wheel and wagon to cars, buses, and then airplanes. And he even 
saw a man walk on the Moon. He saw great medical advances like the 
eradication of smallpox and the treatment of life-threatening diseases 
with advanced medicine and surgery. He saw communications change from 
mail to telephones to faxes and to e-mail.
  He lived through World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the gulf 
war, and the war on terror. He saw America rise to a world superpower, 
and he saw the Iron Curtain spread across Europe only to see it crumble 
years later. He saw the tragedy at Pearl Harbor and the tragedy on 9/
11. He saw leaders like Churchill and Roosevelt.
  In his later years, Wilbur still kept up with current events. He 
would sit and watch C-SPAN and call me about specific bills. He could 
quote the bill number and tell me what it was and what it would do, and 
then he would ask what were we going to do about it.

                              {time}  1815

  It taught me a lot about him and how much he loved America. If only 
we had more Americans like Wilbur Myrick. At a time when most Americans 
are filled with apathy, he stood out as an example of who we should all 
strive to be. He was filled with hope, hope for a better tomorrow and 
for a better America.
  Perhaps the best words to be said about him are from his 
granddaughter, Mia Myrick Alderman:
  ``My grandfather died last night.
  ``Granddaddy was old, very old. His 96th birthday is just over a 
month away. He is no longer languishing in a convalescent home, his 
body giving out more every day. He is free again and with the others, 
the others who have gone before him. My grandmother, his wife, who 
called him `Myrick.' His large family, including a sister who died 
during the 1918 flu epidemic when my grandfather was 9 years old. He 
did not get sick and all by himself he cared for his family and their 
farm. A strong 9-year-old, my grandfather grew to be a strong man.
  ``He was not a complicated man. I do not know much about his life 
before me. I am the oldest of his five grandchildren, seven great-
grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren, but I know all about 
my granddaddy, who was just 51 when I was born.
  ``My grandfather is just another old man to die in a small North 
Carolina town called Weldon. One of many who die every day, but to me 
he was a magical, special person. He was not in any way unique compared 
to all the other old men in Weldon, but when I went to visit my 
grandfather as a child he was very unique to me: His North Carolina-
Virginia border accent; those southern sayings; the way he hugged me 
and laughed; the way his house and even the earth around his house 
smelled; the things he knew, secrets I thought only granddaddy knew, 
like how to thump a watermelon to see if it is ripe. I find myself 
doing that any time I buy one. I am not sure how it works, but I 
believe in magic. I loved my grandfather.
  ``I remember sitting on his lap as a very small child touching the 
black hair on his arm and I loved him. The last time I saw my 
grandfather in the hospital, I held his hand and looked at the hair on 
his arm, now barely there and I knew he would soon be free.
  ``When my grandfather died I lost forever a person and a culture that 
was magical and unique. Fascinating to me as a child and with me always 
in my child heart. My grandfather was a very unique and important man 
to me and I wanted to do this one last thing for him.
  ``As another old man from a little town called Weldon dies, so does 
my granddaddy, a very important man.''

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