First Lady

I guess you had to be there. You need to have lived through the collapse of the scandalous Nixon presidency, the shameful conclusion of the Vietnam War, the anger and alienation that was the fallout of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, the assassinations, the race riots and the student riots. You need to have lived through a time when we came to believe that our government was hostile and venal to appreciate the shocking candor, the frankness, the refreshing honesty of Betty Ford.

Betty Ford, the widow of late President Gerald Ford and a co-founder of an eponymous addiction center in California, has died at the age of 93, according to the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. Ford died Friday evening with family at her bedside, according to a family member. Elaine Didier, the director of the Grand Rapids, Mich., museum, confirmed Ford's death to CNN. No other details were immediately available. Condolences began pouring in soon after news broke about her death.

I don't get it ...the United States is in extreme debt and getting higher every second. Yet Michelle Obama and daughters are apparently enjoying their travels in Africa. ( "Aids Activists Share Plight With First Lady" June 24.) The plight of AIDS will long be with us. Talking about it solves absolutely nothing. Question: Does the First Lady have to get approval from anyone for her trips? When will our government realize we cannot fix other countries' problems? We cannot fix our own!

It's difficult to fathom the real purpose or intent of the scathing critiques of Michelle Obama's health initiative to lower the rate of childhood obesity. We know that this country has a significantly greater obesity problem than other industrialized nations and that this health problem increases morbidity and mortality rates, decreases productivity and significantly increases the cost of health care. Any effort to stem this tide is appreciated. Ms. Obama is attempting to persuade people to develop better eating and exercise habits.

Give me a break. The first lady can't even grow a vegetable garden or warn of the dangers of childhood obesity without some Republican creep getting their nose out of joint or complaining about the excesses of government. To these old eyes the first lady is a strikingly gorgeous woman. She certainly has a lot of credibility when it comes to dietary counsel because she practices what she preaches, and whatever she is doing works well for her. And we could all heed her admonition to eat less.

As the Swansfield Elementary School students boarded six buses Monday for the trek from Columbia to the White House Easter Egg Roll, second-grader Jadaejah Matthews said she hoped to meet President Barack Obama. Classmate Masale Robi seconded that hope, adding that he wanted to ask Obama "how he learns tricks to play basketball. " The Swansfield party of 250 (including 175 students) were set to join more than 30,000 people participating in the annual event Monday that featured live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling and Easter egg rolling on the White House South Lawn.

It has been on the agenda of First Lady, Michelle Obama , star chef, Jamie Oliver (whose show "Food Revolution" airs today on ABC) and organizations like Slow Food USA . Just what do we do about school lunches in America? Do you remember your school lunch from years ago? Thinking about it makes me cringe. I mean, was it food? I was one of the nerdy kids who opted to bring my lunch to school everyday. I always had the sneaking suspicion that what was on my Styrofoam plate was not necessarily the best food in the world.

Presidential tastes While visiting Washington and its surroundings, why not eat like a president — at new economy prices, of course. Here are a few local spots with tasty food good enough for President Barack Obama and his family: Ben's Chili Bowl Opened in 1958, this renowned restaurant remains true to its roots with lots of chili, burgers and dogs. Obama orders the chili half-smoke — a pork and beef smoked sausage topped with mustard, onions and spicy chili sauce ($5.45)

Ellen Ingram Fretterd, who was known as the "first lady" of the Maryland National Guard, died of cancer Dec. 3 at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. The Federalsburg resident was 75. Born Ellen Ingram in Pike, W.Va., and raised in Seaford, Del., she was a graduate of Seaford High School. She earned an associate's degree from Chesapeake College and a bachelor of arts from what was then Salisbury State College. In 1988 then-Gov. William Donald Schaefer appointed her to the school's board of visitors.