How I envision Senator Robert Byrd’s arrival at the hospital…

At the risk of being labeled “cruel” and “insensitive,” I must admit that upon learning that Democrat Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia–the oldest current member of the senate–was hospitalized earlier this evening due to a fall at his home, the news caused me to chuckle just a bit.

Immediately my mind began to wander… Picturing the “honorable” Mr. Byrd lying in the hospital with a crisp white sheet pulled up around his head–and thinking that good ol’ Bobby Byrd probably never felt more at home.

After all, it was the same distinguised Senator Byrd who was once elected “Exhalted Cyclops” (local leader) and also once held the title of “Kleagle,” of the West Virgina chapter of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK). And the same fine citizen who once wrote to segregationist Senator Theodore Bilbo, saying, “Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.“*

Yes sir, I bet that crisp white hospital sheet gives Byrd more comfort than we will ever know. To borrow from the old phrase, “Once a friend, always a friend.” And clearly, Byrd and sheets have been on friendly terms for many years.

But I do wish Mr. Byrd a speedy and full recovery. So that he is out of the hospital in time to vote for fellow Senator Barack Obama in the November election. I’m confident that his heart-felt endorsement must be forthcoming any day now.

*Source: Wikipedia.org