He was the man with 100,000 friends.
Former U. S. Sen. Al Simpson, 93, died this past Friday and he leaves a big hole in the hearts of lots of folks. He was an icon both here in the Cowboy State and in the U.S. Senate.
I considered myself one of those friends and I have the evidence to prove it. He wrote the introduction to my first book and he wrote the epilogue in my sixth and last book. In-between we talked often. He was both a colorful character and a true American hero.
Why Were The Miners Dying?
The biggest news story I wrote in my 60-year career was done working closely with Big Al.
In 1990, a Lander gal named Midge Olson came to me complaining to me that her husband died of cancer caused by working in the uranium mines two decades earlier. She said her husband’s body was so radioactive, grass would not grow on his grave.
Digger Olson and other victims were men in their 50s and 60s who had operated forklifts and track hoes in digging out the original uranium mines in the Jeffrey City area.
We wrote stories and editorials about the extent of this scourge. With Stan Cannon’s help, we set up a meeting of the miners and their families with Al. Simpson was the whip for the GOP in the Senate at the time and was astonished to hear about this horrible situation.
Cannon was Simpson’s press secretary and with his guidance, we put together a packet of all our stories, which was circulated around the Senate. Al pushed through a bill creating a $100 million trust fund and it passed 99-0.
Bush signed it. Hundreds, maybe thousands of families, have been paid the $100,000 benefit that it created, as its benefits spread across the USA to other trouble spots.
Sen. Simpson nominated me and our staff for a Pulitzer Prize for our series called “Why did the miners die?”
Most Interesting Man In Wyoming
About 10 years ago, one of the most-catchy ads on TV was called “The Most Interesting Man In The World.” It was a beer commercial.
Back then I was writing a statewide column for dozens of Wyoming newspapers and I launched a campaign to find out who was “The Most Interesting Man In Wyoming?”
We considered both men and women for this honor.
Al won it hands-down in votes from my readers.
Coincidentally, Big Al (who stood 6-7) had just had a barrel of Wyoming Whiskey created in his honor and he had been signing and numbering all 216 bottles. Due to the similarity of that situation with the beer commercial that inspired this effort, I wrote:
Picture this: the most interesting man in Wyoming is surrounded by his beautiful wife, his pretty daughter, his pretty daughters in law, and his pretty granddaughters. He raises a glass in a toast and looks into the camera and says:
“I don’t normally drink, but when I do . . . I drink Wyoming Whiskey.”
He Was A Quote Machine
I first met Al as a young reporter in the 1970s. He was planning a run for the U. S. Senate to replace Cliff Hansen. I was also a part-owner of the Cody Enterprise and our staff there met with Al to get to know him.
He was funny and very smart. He remembered everybody’s name from that point on, which was something he loved being able to do.
After being elected, he would come to Lander and we would sit in my office for an interview and he would come up with all these great quotes and pertinent stories. He was a dream interview for a reporter. You could not write an uninteresting story about the man.
Over the years, he found himself becoming more isolated from what was the new mainstream Republican party. He was tolerant of gay marriage and although he hated abortion, he believed in a woman’s right to choose. Both stances caused him trouble with the state and national GOP.
And yet he soldiered on.
Three years ago, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden.
One of his biggest honors was giving the eulogy for President George H. W. Bush during Bush’s funeral in Washington. As usual, Simpson was eloquent and spectacular. It was just so well done.
“Hey Bill, What the Sh*t!”
That was how my last conversation with Al Simpson started. Not sure what he was concerned about, though.
I recall that conversation now as I mourn the passing of a good friend. My condolences go out to Ann, his wife of 70 years, his two sons and daughter and extended family.
He may have been the last of the “Big Tent Republicans.” He often bemoaned the fact that his politics were probably too liberal for him to get elected if he ran today. He was so proud of working across the aisle to get things done both in the Wyoming Legislature and in the U. S, Senate.
His likes may rarely be seen again.
