I’m feeling old today. Twenty-five years ago, on a rainy Monday afternoon, John Hinckley almost assassinated Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. I was in sixth grade.
It’s hard to believe that a quarter century has elapsed. For those of you that are conspiracy minded, here are a couple little known facts:
Neil Bush was scheduled to have dinner with Scott Hinckley (John’s older brother) the
day that Reagan was shot (the Hinckley Family and the Bush family were both involved in the energy industry). Additionally, the Bush family
and Hinckley family are related, both having descended from Thomas Hinckley (born 19 Mar 1619, Hawkhurst, Kent, England; died 25 Apr 1706,
Barnstable, MA) who was Governor of Plymouth Colony from 1658-1681.
You can read the original AP story (referencing an earlier Houston Post story) here. If even has a little reference to Dubya.
Despite the ominous implications of these coincidences, it really does appear that John Hinckley acted alone and was deeply deranged and obsessed with Jodie Foster. It even appears that he made efforts to kill President Carter before Reagan replaced him. So, it’s probably best to put the tin-foil back in the box. But if you can resist the urge to speculate, check this out.
It never pays to examine the Bush Family too closely, even when they’re innocent.
In any case, Ronald Reagan lived, went on to trade arms for hostages, make a memorable trip to Iceland, and have an airport named after him. George Herbert Walker Bush didn’t get to become President 25 years ago, but he and his son would go on to occupy the Oval Office for 12 of the next 28 years.
Makes me weary just to think about it.
