Goodbye, Mr. President: Houston Bids Farewell To George H.W. Bush

TOMBALL, TX — And just like that, the anticipation of the train carrying President George H.W. Bush to his final resting place in College Station, passed along with the train that carried the flag-draped casket of the 41st President of the United States.

About 500 residents from Tomball, Spring, and rural Montgomery County lined a narrow stretch of railroad track that passed beneath the FM 2978 overpass, and past Mel’s Country Cafe on the way to Pinehurst, Magnolia, and College Station.

A Tomball Fire Department ladder truck guarded the right lane of the overpass as firefighters suspended three American flags from the bridge spanning the railroad tracks that would greet Bush 4141.

While many were there to pay their respects to Bush the president, there was the underlying sentiment of something more than just historic.

Among the crowd, which at times huddled beneath the bridge to escape the occasional bouts of rain and wind, were true mourners who lamented the passing of leadership and the eventual demise of the generation Americans have come to call its greatest.

“An era is ending,” Belinda Davis, of Spring told Patch. “ A generation is leaving us, which is extraordinarily bad. We are really saying goodbye to a whole era of people.”

Jeffie Bridgeman Cappadona, of Tomball, wore a navy blue Bush 41 t-shirt as she shielded herself from the misty rain with an umbrella and she stood alongside an electric golf cart she’d driven to the tracks.

Cappadonna, who is originally from Midland and has connections to the Bush family agreed that Bush’s death signified something more than profound.

“If you look at his resume, we will never see anything like this in a leader again, I don’t think,” she said.

The originally sparse crowd that began to arrive by 10:30 a.m., gradually increased. Some scoured the train trestle for rusty railroad spikes, while others placed coins on the top of the rail to be flattened when the Bush funeral train rumbled passed.

Among man who paid their respects were military veterans, some who’d served whiled Bush was Commander-n-Chief, and others who served during Vietnam.

Scott Reed, a Vietnam veteran, wore his dress blue Navy uniform to pay his respects to Bush.

“The man stood for values that were pure and very good,” Reed said. “He was a politician, but there was that respect you had for the man.”

Reed said he’d worked for the Houston Texans and has the opportunity to meet both George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush during visits to the team.

Reed said when he heard about Bush’s death and the funeral train, he decided to wear his uniform to show respect to a fellow Navy veteran.

The crowd, which had grown to about 500 by 1:30 p.m., stood from lawn chairs along the tracks, and looked east toward the sound of the wailing train whistle. It was time.

As the light on Bush 4141 appeared a quarter mile away, the crowd began waving small American flags, and cheering as if Bush could hear their adoration.

Bush 4141 rushed past the crowd of mourners at about 45 miles per hour. The blue and white flash of Bush 4141 merged with the cars that followed.

Crowds cheered Bush 4141 as it passed through Pinehurst, Todd Mission, Magnolia and Navasota.

Two hours later, the casket of one of the most beloved American presidents in history arrived at College Station where he was laid to rest, and just like that, it was all over.

(For more news and information like this, subscribe to Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Image:Courtesy/Spring Fire Department.

Send your news tips and story ideas to bryan.kirk@patch.com