    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 25, 2000]
    [Pages 1028-1029]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Memorial Service for Casey Shearer in Providence,
    Rhode Island
    May 25, 2000

        The President.  Derek, Ruth, Anthony, Julia, Marva, Allyson, all of the family and friends, I want you to know why
    we're here today. Over 30 years ago, I lived with Casey's Uncle
    Strobe, and through him I met Casey's Aunt
    Brooke. And they were in love, and so I then
    had to meet Derek and Cody and Marva and Skip. And then I introduced
    them to Hillary. And then Derek introduced all of us to Ruth. And the
    rest is history.
        What I want to say to all of you is, when we were young, we were to
    each other what Casey has been to you. And I think I can say for all of
    us, listening to you today has been overwhelming and wonderful. And all
    I can hope is that you will hold on to it for the rest of your lives.
        But we have a few memories, too.

     [At this point, the First Lady made
    brief remarks.]

        The President.  His classmates might be interested to know that when
    I ran for President first in 1992, Casey actually tried to tutor me in
    rap music. [Laughter] You know, I would do this whole shtick. I played
    on Arsenio Hall's show, and I was trying to
    show that I was in tune with younger voters. I knew nothing about rap
    music. [Laughter] I knew nothing about the music of the eighties. I went
    to work and missed it all. Casey was horrified that I was going to
    embarrass myself on national television and blow the election.
    [Laughter]
        I also remember, after we went to the White House, Casey and his
    family, we went to a Baltimore Orioles game together. And I actually
    thought I knew something about baseball until he offered the play-by-
    play. [Laughter] So I remember that.

     [The First Lady made brief remarks.]

        The President.  Now, I come here today and find out that he gave a
    great gift to our Embassy in Italy with that--[laughter]. You know, even
    though I just have a few months left to serve, I still have some measure
    of influence, and I think I'll have a plaque put up at that pool.
    [Laughter]
        Let me say to all of you just one last thing. Growing older has its
    joys. But one of the great burdens is the pain and mystery of losing
    children--the ones you know and the ones you don't. And I don't know any
    more about it today than I did when I was your age, but I know a little
    more about life. It's such a short time--21 years, 22.
        But a few days ago, I went to Chicago to an event, and after it was
    over I went with my friends there to the Field Museum, where
    Hillary spent a lot of time as a kid.
    Now, at

    [[Page 1029]]

    the Field Museum now, they have this 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus
    rex named Sue, after the woman who found
    her on a South Dakota farm. I liked old Sue. And I thought to myself,
    we're all just passing through. I mean, she was here 67 million years
    ago.
        And what I would like to say to you is that, whether you live for 20
    years or 50 or 80 or 100, it doesn't take long to live a life. And Mr.
    Wordsworth was right, the last best portions of it are the little
    unremembered acts of kindness and love. Casey Shearer had a great life.
        Thank you.

     Note: The President spoke at 5:45 p.m. in Sayles Hall at Brown
    University. In his remarks, he referred to the following members of
    Casey Shearer's family: his uncle, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe
    Talbott; his aunt, Brooke Shearer, former director, White House
    Fellowships; his father, former U.S. Ambassador to Finland Derek N.
    Shearer; his stepbrother, Anthony Shearer, and his stepsister, Julia;
    his mother, Ruth Y. Goldway; his grandparents, Lloyd (Skip) and Marva
    Shearer; and his uncle, journalist Cody Shearer. The President also
    referred to Casey's girlfriend, Allyson Grant; and Susan Hendrickson,
    volunteer, Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. The transcript
    released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks
    of the First Lady.