[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.