3/30/1981 page 8

 3/30/1981 page 8 by ric gustafson

It was shortly after 11:00 am. President Reagan was working on his speech for that afternoon. The speech was in all capital letters on five and a fourth by eight inch heavy bond paper. When he had finished writing, Reagan checked it for mistakes. 

In three hours, Reagan knew he had to address the Building and Construction Trades Department. Reagan was an adversary of unions. He agreed to speak because Reagan's labor secretary Ray Donovan asked him to. If Reagan could get the support of the AFL- CIO, it could help his 1984 reelection campaign.

Helping President Reagan with his speech was a young speechwriter. Her name was Mari Maseng. She had worked with Senator Bob Dole. Then she joined Reagan's team. When Reagan and Maseng were done with the final draft, the President needed to leave. He needed to eat lunch and then rest before the motorcade would take him to the Hilton.

research help: ' Rawhide Down' by Del Quentin Wilber

Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric