Wilson was probably the most colorful politician I, sort of, knew. I say, “sort of,” because I didn’t know him well enough for him to recall my name although, if he ever had the occasion to know it, he sure as heck would have found it out quickly. Charlie represented the area of Texas — first in the Texas Legislature and later during 12 terms in the U.S. House — I lived in for most of my life. Of course, I moved around some and even left Southeast Texas several times for a few years at a pop but returned. Also, political lines being what they are, where I lived at the time may or may not have been served by Charlie.
I probably could have made that whole paragraph shorter by saying Charlie represented me from the time I was a kid until I was an adult in my 40s. That’s some time.
My link above is to Wilson’s hometown paper, The Lufkin Daily News. It looks like they have all hands on deck for this story, which one would expect. Their early coverage looks pretty thorough although most papers have obituaries long on hand for prominent people.
But more than his longevity, Charlie will be remembered more for his devil may care attitude. “Good Time Charlie” is one of his nicknames. He liked to party and have good looking women around him. There is the famous line about someone asking Charlie, upon seeing all these fantastic lookers working for him in his congressional office, what it was all about. Charlie said: “You can teach them to type but you can’t teach them to grow tits.”
Wilson was never known in Congress for his ability to pass landmark or high-profile legislation. But his legacy will be his secret and sometimes singular fight to fund Afghan rebels when they fought an occupying Soviet Army in the 1980s. His hijinks and his successes are chronicled in the book-turned-movie by George Crile in which Wilson was portrayed by Tom Hanks.
As a politician and as a congressman, Charlie will also have a legacy that only those who lived in his congressional district knew. That was his so-called “constituent services.” These are things such as ensuring some long-suffering veteran gets his pension or helping someone get their Social Security checks. Such services and even what some call “pork” which puts jobs in a community and bread on the table are what get congressmen elected. And, Wilson and his staff were among the best at serving their constituents. It’s why little old ladies in the Bible Belt just loved Charlie, no matter that he trouble with drinking and driving or alleged use of cocaine.
Probably no one but Charlie Wilson’s staff could have gotten a medal from the Soviet Union for my late father, whose ships delivered goods to Vladivostok during World War II. It’s a long story, but I wanted to honor my Dad who wasn’t even recognized as a veteran at the time of his death in 1984 — it would be several years later that Congress passed legislation finally making Merchant Marine military veterans — despite his having served during hostile action on board a merchant ship.
Charlie was certainly a presence when he was around you. He could BS with the best of them. That’s high praise for a Texan. The world was certainly made more interesting by having Charlie Wilson in it.
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