As the presidential election grumbles and stumbles its way toward the finish line, I find myself remembering an event from my past that I would like to share.

In 1959, I was a sophomore in high school here in Libby. Like this year’s election, the presidential race was close, Nixon/Lodge vs. Kennedy/Johnson. I remember a conversation with our math teacher about the candidates. He supported Nixon.

The day after the election when he entered our classroom, he did a remarkable thing, one I have never forgotten. He picked up what appeared to be a bumper sticker, and he put it on the board. It read: Kennedy/Johnson. “This is our president,” he said.

So simple, yet so calm, so classy, so much a teaching moment. Most importantly, so patriotic.

May we in Libby, in Montana, in these United States of America have the same grace and will to do the same.