Last ‘CAVU’ favor from Prez 41

Vice President Mike Pence recalled Dec. 3 how he had asked a final favor from an ailing President George H.W. Bush in August on behalf of his son, Marine 1st Lt. Michael Pence - never expecting that the former president would be able to comply. The younger Pence had just made his first tailhook carrier landing on the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush earning his Wings of Gold as a Marine pilot - after graduation from Naval Air Station Meridian, Miss. The favor: Would the former president autograph a photo for his son? Bush's staff replied, he no longer signs autographs. But within a week, a handwritten letter and a signed photo from Bush arrived in Washington, D.C. "Congratulations on receiving your wings of gold," Bush wrote to Pence's son. "Though we have not met, I wish you many days of CAVU ahead" - a reference to the Navy acronym meaning "Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited" that he adopted as his motto for public service. Pence told the story, upon the arrival of Bush's casket at the Capitol Rotunda, as an example to the former president's basic decency and humility. Bush performed a final public service in the form of a brief respite from partisan politics among factions in Congress and the White House. President Donald Trump and Congress were nearing a tentative agreement to put off a battle on the budget and funding for the border wall until, at least, next week, avoiding a partial government shutdown Dec. 7. (Source: Military.com 012/04/18)