The ‘Human’ Side of Bush Merits Respect of Scouts

President Bush had more than camp-outs and merit badges on his mind when he spoke to Boy Scouts and leaders at Ft. A.P. Hill at Bowling Green, Va. Bush, the first President since Lyndon B. Johnson to attend a Boy Scout Jamboree, urged his audience of more than 30,000 to steer their peers away from “this scourge called drugs . . . a form of pollution, a poisoning of the mind, a corruption of the very soul of young America.” The President also put in a pitch for his space program, saying it was “no coincidence that half of all astronauts were once scouts.” Bush, an avid fisherman, did not ignore more traditional camp-out activities. “Whatever you love to do--whether it’s hiking, hunting or kayaking--hang on to it. . . ., “ Bush advised. Such hobbies will provide “a source of relaxation and replenishment that will never fail you.” Mike Bendorf, 17, of Omaha said he liked Bush’s words on fishing. “It made him seem more human, not just a President,” Bendorf said. --Rep. Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.) cast a vote for matrimony as he began a monthlong congressional recess. Udall’s office announced that the 67-year-old congressman was married to Norma Gilbert in a private ceremony Sunday in the Prayer Room of the Capitol. The Rev. James Ford, chaplain of the House of Representatives, presided at the marriage. House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) stood up for Udall and Cathy Kahn stood up for her mother. Norma Gilbert Udall is a native of Los Angeles who has lived in the Washington area for 15 years and has worked as a lobbyist and congressional staff member. Udall’s first wife, Ella, with whom he had six children, died last year.

--Former President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan received two gifts from the Soviets in the past week: The Soviet Embassy sent a copper wash picture of Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev signing the INF treaty in the White House last year, and Raisa Gorbachev sent a book on drug abuse to Mrs. Reagan. The book, “The Place of the Skull” by Soviet writer Chingiv Iatamatov, was accompanied by a letter in which Mrs. Gorbachev said: “I keep in my heart the warmth of our previous contacts and meetings.”