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CNN Live Event/Special
CNN International: Queen Elizabeth II Laid to Rest in Windsor Castle; King Charles III to Step Back from Charitable Work; Ukrainians in Izyum Struggle with Daily Life; Hurricane Hits Dominican Republic after Slamming Puerto Rico; Wall Street Choppy As Fed Interest Rate Decision Looms. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired September 19, 2022 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Good evening.
United in grief and expressing heartfelt emotion, a nation and commonwealth came together on Monday for the final journey of Her Majesty the Queen. The queen was the embodiment of Britain.
And people all over the world have been paying tribute to her 70 years of service and dedication to duty. It's the day that the queen was reunited with her beloved husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. And a short time ago, her coffin was lowered into a royal vault at Windsor Castle following a state funeral in London.
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QUEST (voice-over): The pomp, the pageantry, all appropriate for the longest reign in British history.
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QUEST: And from Westminster Abbey through London, then at Windsor, just look. Thousands of mourners lined the streets to pay their final respects. As the French president has said, it was not a queen, it was the queen, CNN's Bianca Nobilo is outside Windsor Castle this evening, joins me now.
What a day, what a day.
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It's been historic, emotional and poignant, Richard. It was quite incredible to be here and actually feel one chapter of history ending and another one beginning.
And that's what the traditions and symbolic acts of the day represented, from the removal of the crown and the orb and sceptre, to the position that we saw King Charles in and hearing those people chant, "God save the king." It was a day that none of us will forget.
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NOBILO (voice-over): It was the day a nation said goodbye. After more than a week of remembrance, Queen Elizabeth II, the U.K.'s longest reigning monarch, was finally laid to rest. Thousands made their way to watch the funeral, with the national newspapers dedicating their front pages to her.
As the casket made its way into Westminster Abbey, her children, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, all followed behind. Also in line, Princes William and Harry and two of the queen's great grandchildren, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
On the coffin, a note from her son King Charles, "In loving and devoted memory."
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NOBILO (voice-over): Around 2,000 people attended the funeral, with politicians and leaders from home and abroad coming to pay their respects.
JUSTIN WELBY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: Her late Majesty famously declared on her 21st birthday broadcast that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and Commonwealth. Rarely has such a promise been so well kept.
NOBILO: A short call announced two-minute silence -- where the nation fell silent.
A short trumpet call announced a two-minute silence, which hushed the nation, broken only by the national anthem.
From there, the pageantry and mourning continued as the queen's coffin was led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, escorted by the royal family and flanked by thousands of guards and onlookers.
Cannons fired as her coffin passed by, ready for her final journey to Windsor. As a final smaller service with a symbolic handover, the queen's coffin was lowered into the royal vault as the sovereign piper played a personal request of the queen herself, according to Buckingham Palace.
On the eve of her funeral, Buckingham Palace released an unseen picture of the queen taken earlier this year ahead of her Platinum Jubilee, a fitting tribute for 70 years of service.
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NOBILO: Richard, seeing those dignitaries from all around the world unite to remember the late Queen Elizabeth II really underscored that we will never see the likes of this again, whether it's the length of her reign, the unique admiration that she inspired or the rapidity of change and transformation, of which she was a constant. It's truly unparalleled in history.
All, right Bianca, I'm asking all our wonderful team of correspondents who were with us today, what was the moment for you, what was that moment, what Anna Stewart called the spine-tingling moment, as you watched the day, what got you?
NOBILO: Well, I usually cover politics, where there's so much infighting; it's quite fractious and for the sometimes legitimate arguments that people have about the place of the monarchy nowadays and the liberal egalitarian society, there just isn't any replacement or any other figure that could bring together heads of state, politicians from across the aisle and unite them and make them behave in a magnanimous, upstanding way that showed the best of themselves. And that's really stood out to me.
QUEST: Bianca, thank you, you'll be with us at the top of the hour. I'm grateful for you. You've been (INAUDIBLE), thank you.
As 10 days of mourning draw to a close, so begins the reign of King Charles. It's a somber celebration aspect to it, the funeral and the celebration of a new monarch and a new era.
In his first public address, as king, he said he'll have to step back from some of the activities for which he is so well-known.
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CHARLES III, KING OF THE U.K.: It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply.
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QUEST: The charity most closely associated with the new king is the Prince's Trust. It was in 1976 it was established, with his naval severance pay. The mission is clear: to give disadvantaged young people a chance to succeed with jobs, education and training.
A million people have been supported, including some famous alumni, like Idris Elba. And the members of the band The Stereophonics.
With me now, Dame Martina Milburn, the group chief executive officer of the Prince's Trust.
It's good to see you, ma'am. So the Prince's Trust is the Prince of Wales. Now he's no longer Prince of Wales. Does it become Prince William's trust?
What happens now to the Prince's Trust?
DAME MARTINA MILBURN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PRINCE'S TRUST: Not a lot, actually. It will remain the Prince's Trust and His Majesty will remain as our president. So it will continue but just with himself in a different role.
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QUEST: And the role that he has played as president, very hands-on, very involved.
MILBURN: Well, he's actually been taking a step back for quite a number of years now. And we have been aware that his time has been being squeezed, certainly as the queen became older. He took on more of her duties.
So there was less time. We have had quite a lot of time to prepare for this. And we always knew that this day would happen. But we will continue delivering to young people and building on the legacy that the king has left us.
QUEST: The work that you do is going to take on, ,I suggest, a greater importance, not just in this country but I know now, of course, the Prince's Trust works in other countries but in the U.K., specifically, as the country goes into a recession and hardship continues and grows, one would expect the cause on your work to be greater.
MILBURN: Yes, I think that's absolutely accurate. And we've always been very lucky in we've had a very good supporter base in the U.K. and actually in other countries. We're now in 19 countries around the world.
We've always had a mix of money from high-net worth individuals, from trusts and foundations and indeed from government. And that won't change at all.
QUEST: So where does the Prince's Trust go, if you will?
What is your priority for the trust?
MILBURN: Our priority is to do what we do well, which is changing the lives of young people. And we will continue to do that. And as I said, we will continue to build on all the goodwill, the legacy, the ideas that he helped us get started with.
QUEST: I was in New York, recently, of course, and you had a major event in New York, which was very well attended. It was a fundraiser and to raise the profile of the trust. And it was opened by a video from the king.
This idea of when it was set up in 1970 -- looking at pictures now of that particular event back in April-- this idea of when it was set up, helping disadvantaged, it's sort of, in a strange way, it was less philanthropy and more helping people in a different version of that, wasn't it.
MILBURN: It was. But it's always existed, like most charities, in being supported through philanthropy. I think because we have such a good chap (ph) record and because we are able to target our program.
So the trust gives very practical help. You mentioned it yourself, for example, we helped him through acting school. So really practical, targeted help. And that will absolutely continue.
QUEST: I guess to refine what my -- my rather clumsy question, what I was getting at is the way in which The Gates Foundation changed the philosophy of the way charities have to look at results-oriented charity, the Prince's Trust was doing that right from the very beginning.
MILBURN: Yes, and certainly the king, when he was the Prince of Wales, has always been very keen on results. And he said to me on many an occasion, I don't mind how many you help, Martina, as long as the quality of that help is the best it can be and you're actually making a difference.
So that's part of the DNA of the charity because of the way that he set us up right at the beginning.
QUEST: Now he's the king, you won't change the name to the King's Trust?
MILBURN: No, well at least, if we are, I don't know about that.
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QUEST: Something tells me that you don't know about it. I'm grateful, thank you.
MILBURN: Thank you.
QUEST: In a moment, Ukraine claims to have taken control of a key river in the northeast. Russia is denying the accusation it has committed war crimes in the region. We'll talk about it after the break.
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QUEST: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy saying that there will be no letup in the counter offensive that is liberating towns and cities in Ukraine's northeast. Kyiv is claiming the village of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region is now entirely under its control.
Some local officials say taking over formerly Russian occupied areas proving much more difficult than it was in Kharkiv. And Ukraine says its forces are propelling Russian attacks near eight settlements in the northeast. And they're taking control of both banks of the Oskil River. CNN's Ben Wedeman is here from Kharkiv.
Ben, is this a movement, if you will, a momentum?
Or are these just -- pardon the crudity of my phrase -- "lucky" victories by Ukraine? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think this is momentum, Richard. What we saw in Izyum, for example, was Russian military hardware strewn all over the place, some of it in perfect working order; others damaged by Ukrainian missile strikes.
But what is clear is, the Russian forces, once considered the second greatest military force in the world, are much weaker than anybody thought. But what we're also finding -- we went to Izyum, which was liberated about eight or nine days ago -- what we saw is that liberation is a good thing.
But there's many problems that the Ukrainian authorities now have to face.
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WEDEMAN (voice-over): Help arrives in Izyum, bags of barley meal, tins of food. Waiting her turn, Inessa (ph) shrugs off the tribulations of late. She's seen worse.
"We survived World War II when I was little," she tells me.
Surgeon Oksana Karapetian hands out medicine. Sedatives are in high demand.
OKSANA KARAPETIAN, SURGEON: They've got half of a year, six months, without any help. You can understand what to do they would.
Just imagine, what do they feel?
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Liberation from Russia isn't the end of Izyum's troubles. Much of the city was severely bombarded before falling in spring to the Russians. There's no running water, no electricity, no heat.
Crowds gathered to charge cell phones off an army generator and make calls 10 minutes per person, using Internet provided by a satellite connection.
Lubov (ph) and her daughter, Anzhela (ph), are calling relatives. They want to leave. Winter is coming.
"People will freeze," Anzhela (ph) warns. "Older people won't survive."
They also fear the Russians could return. Nearby, the signs of their hasty retreat, helmets strewn outside a house Russian soldiers commandeered, bread crumbs still on the table.
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WEDEMAN (voice-over): Insects make a meal of fruit, half eaten.
On the edge of town, the remains of Russia's once vaunted army, before a monument harking back to a different time, which now seems like the distant past. Natasha shows me a newspaper distributed during the occupation.
What does she think of him?
"I haven't thought anything good about him since 2000," she says. "He destroyed everything and Russia."
The paper does, however, come in handy.
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WEDEMAN: The Russians may be down but they're not out, however. In fact about two kilometers from here, this morning, in the city of Kharkiv, four Russian missiles slammed into part of this town. Richard.
QUEST: So, Ben, if there's still the ability to cause death and destruction by missiles but the actual infantry to create a new front line and pushed forward, it begs the question, what does Russia do?
WEDEMAN: Well, at best, they can set up new defensive lines in the areas they are still occupying. But in terms of offensive capabilities, it appears that they're on the back foot.
What we've seen certainly recently with the Kharkiv offensive is that their troops are in disarray. Their equipment isn't very well maintained. They don't seem to have a very capable leadership.
So the best they can do perhaps is to hold their current position and use to a maximum advantage their superiority in quantity of artillery, perhaps, if not quality. And, of course, the longer range missiles that fell on Kharkiv this morning -- Richard.
QUEST: Ben Wedeman in Kharkiv, I'm grateful.
The Caribbean demands our attention now. Hurricane Fiona's pounding the Dominican Republic. It swept through Puerto Rico and brought with it heavy rain, strong winds and catastrophic flooding and major power loss.
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QUEST: As our coverage continues, it was hard not to be moved at certainly the impressive outpouring today.
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QUEST: The setting was 1,000 years of history and the service was more intimate than the state funeral earlier in the day. There was profoundness in the emotion. And outside, thousands of mourners looking at The Long Walk at Windsor Castle as the queen was taken there.
The mood music was all love and gratitude for Her Majesty the Queen.
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OWEN DAVIES, WINDSOR RESIDENT: She's been our neighbor for 34 years. It's really a sad day. But it almost feels like she's coming home.
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RT. REV. DAVID CONNER, DEAN OF WINDSOR: WE have come together to commit into the hands of God the soul of his servant Queen Elizabeth. Here, in St George's Chapel, where she so often worshipped, we are bound to call to mind someone whose uncomplicated yet profound Christian Faith bore so much fruit.
It hath pleased Almighty God to take out of this transitory life unto his divine mercy the late most high, most mighty, and most excellent monarch, Elizabeth II.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The queen was head of state, and the head of the family that's grieving. Her four children, eight grandchildren all were today's ceremonies. They carried their duties as diligently as she always did hers. Even the youngest generation was presented at the funeral Prince George and his sister, Princess Charlotte, the oldest children of Kate and William, the Prince and Princess of Wales.
They were there and they played their part. The queen's great grandchildren join the procession that followed the coffin as it entered Westminster Abbey. Kate Williams is with me now. Kate, look, the shift from the queen to Prince Charles now king. We have this also the second shift. William is now the heir to the throne. He's not just in line. He's the heir. And now George has to sort of work out what's next in the sense of, you know, he is now part -- gets ever closer.
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, Richard, you're right. We've talked a lot over the last days, haven't we, about the transition from her majesty to King Charles III. But we haven't talked quite so much about the transition that we're now seeing also from Charles as heir to the throne. It is now William, he is Prince of Wales, he is heir to the throne. He is the King in waiting. And George just nine is second in line to the throne.
And we saw George playing this very integral role today. He's only nine but he was participating in the royal procession. He was part of the possession of scorching the coffin. And I think this, as you say, really does reflect the fact that William now, he's always carved out a role, but he now has a role as the future king and his son also is the future king.
QUEST: So, to the -- there will be some people that will question maybe criticize the participation of the younger members in that procession down the Abbey, and then later on, and they will draw parallels to the four princes behind Diana's coffin. There are differences. What are they?
WILLIAMS: Yes, I have seen that criticism and there has been criticism on social media, saying that children were perhaps too young for this. They are too young to be in the procession. Perhaps they should have gone to the funeral. And certainly there are major differences. I think a major difference is that they were escorted by their parents by their mother. And that the -- what William and Harry had to do was walk through the streets of London.
And when you hear how he talked about it, what he found particularly distressing was the fact that so many of the crowd, were weeping and crying for his mother.
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They were overwhelmed, remember the crowds in 1997 were for the tragic death of Diana but he felt that he couldn't cry and he said, you know, they didn't know her and I did. And I couldn't cry. And that was when he felt great conflict and pain. And I think this is -- that we weren't asking them to this great possession. And it obviously is sad to you -- to lose your great grandmother. But '96 is not the tragic death that you -- that you have for Diana.
And I presume that the children that George and Charlotte did express a wish to do this as, you know, children, they were asked whether they wish to do this need to express a wish to.
QUEST: There is a harsh reality as well, that this is George's destiny. And he has to be trained and prepared for a lifelong job. And the only way you do that is to start young, or am I just being unfair?
WILLIAMS: No, I think you're right, Richard. The archbishop of York, our former archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu. He said that he spoke to the queen, he had a correspondence with the queen after Prince Philip died, and she said how difficult it was to be a public figure and grieve in public. And that's certainly something that royal families and monarchs have to do. For many children, the loss of their grandmother or great grandmother is one of their really early sad memories.
And that is what George has, like so many other small children, but he has to play a part in the possession. And certainly I think the royal family are saying to him here, you are a public figure and you're much more of a public figure than you were. He's really now occupying William's role. And I think this the children showed a lot of courage. It can't have been easy, must be very difficult for them today.
The eyes of the world are upon them and to play this role in the -- in the -- in the -- in the training of their beloved great grandmother, it must be very hard and all credit to them. They shed a lot of courage and a lot of bravery today.
QUEST: You've written books, you've studied, you're leading academic on the issue. Now strip all that aside, Kate, and tell me what for you moved you most today.
WILLIAMS: I found today very moving, the precision, the work of the Armed Forces considering how the queen was head of the armed forces and herself served during World War II. And like many people, I was charmed by the sight of Emma the Queen's pony and the corgis Sandy and Muick. That was a very touching personal moment. But for me, I think the most moving ceremony was in St. George's Chapel where we saw that significant moment when the scepter, the orb, and the Imperial state crown removed from the coffin and taken away.
Put on the altar as they will be now the possessions, the crown jewels, they are now the monarchs in our Charles is. That moment that caught -- that crown that we've always associated with her majesty. She wore it after her coronation in 1983. On the balcony after her coronation. She worked for the state opening of Parliament. When you ask a child to draw the queen they'll often either draw her with a hat or with the crown and it is no longer hers.
And the last time that she wore it, I thought it was very poignant. Just before we heard that wonderful, bagpipe music that you were just playing earlier, Richard, that as Major Paul Burns, her personal sovereigns piper walked away and at that moment that we didn't see of the queen finally saying goodbye. And we saw the piper very poignant moment and not just -- I think for me it didn't not -- we were commemorating the queen but also death and loss and how it is a constant in human life.
QUEST: Thank you. Kate Williams. It's been a pleasure. A privilege to be with you on this historic occasion. I'm very grateful. Thank you. In a moment, Britain is among those nations facing the challenge of a worsening economic situation, high inflation. And yet as -- it's a huge week for what's going to happen to interest rates. We'll talk about it after the break.
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QUEST: We're following a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck off Mexico's western coast. And the U.S. Geological Survey says that the quake struck around 37 kilometers south east of Aquila. In Mexico. Officials are warning there's a risk of a tsunami along the coast with the possibility of waves reaching up to three meters, smaller waves could hit other post -- coasts on Central American countries.
President Biden said in an interview that relief from inflation is on the way.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm telling the American people that we're going to get control of inflation. And their prescription drug prices are going to be a hell of a lot lower, their health care costs are going to be a lot lower. Their basic costs for everybody, their energy prices are going to be lower, they're going to be in a situation where they begin to gain control again. I'm more optimistic than I've been a long time.
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QUEST: Investors aren't quite as optimistic or convinced the markets are touch and go. We're up at the moment. But it has been down over the course of the day, pretty much all over the place. The triple stack shows similar moves on the S&P and the NASDAQ. And everybody is now waiting for the Fed's interest rate decision on Wednesday. A 75 basis points increase. That's three quarters of a percentage point, the third time in a row.
Paul La Monica. I mean, if you're going to raise rates by -- normally, of course, it's a quarter point but you're going to do three quarter points in a row. That's the equivalent of stomping on the brakes.
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN DIGITIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You are -- obviously if you're Jerome Powell and other members of the Fed, Richard, you are trying to grind the economy to a much slower pace than what it has been going at. Mainly because you want to get inflation under control. And that has been a difficult problem obviously for President Biden, those witnessed by those comments about inflation on 60 Minutes last night, as well, as Jerome Powell.
He's talked about how he had hoped that inflation would be transitory. And that turned out not to be true. So now the Fed is aggressively raising rates, there's even still a small chance of a full percentage point. 100 basis point rate hike being priced into the futures. I doubt that's going to happen. But the mere fact that it's been priced in shows how much of a problem inflation is right now for the Fed and the economy.
QUEST: And if -- I mean, whether it's a three quarters or one percentage point, I guess we're now looking at what is the latest, what's the consensus on the roof of this rate rising cycle?
LA MONICA: Yes. How much higher will rates go is a great question. You're seeing some people suggesting that the Fed funds rates needs to go into, you know, potentially as high as 4-1/2 percent, maybe even five percent before the Fed can consider pausing and then seeing what damage if you will is done to the economy because that's going to be the next question. We know that the Fed is trying to raise rates to slow things down.
If they get the soft landing that they have talked about, then maybe we can avoid a recession and the Fed doesn't have to then reverse course and start cutting rates drastically and quickly. But if the economy really slows to a standstill, and we get a recession sometime next year, then you would expect the Fed to pause and then eventually start cutting rates.
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QUEST: Yes. But the problem is with that, that's -- that assumes inflation comes down. I mean, you know, it's what comes first. You know, you put the rates up, you watch inflation come down. And if it doesn't come down, you have to keep doing it until it does. And that's where you got your recession.
LA MONICA: Exactly. I mean, we're worse, we get stagflation. If rates up -- keep going up and inflation doesn't come down, but the economy slows. And that's obviously not what Jerome Powell wants, but Jerome Powell has talked about there needing to be some pain for the economy. And he has echoed comments from the late Paul Volcker a couple of times in recent speeches. And as you know, Richard, Paul Volcker was the Fed fighting inflation chairman in the late 70s early 80s who aren't afraid to raise rates dramatically.
QUEST: Paul, you can't or won't, or didn't say, you said, if stagflation. I will change that for me, too, when stagflation. I can't see a way in which we don't end up with least in certain European countries. Paul La Monica, in New York with that.
The headquarters of the firm is Buckingham Palace. It is the office building where the Prince Charles, King Charles now will live there. We don't know. But it is still the symbol of monarchy in Britain. And spectacular it looks tonight.
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QUEST: The closure there of the casket and the flowers which were chosen by the queen and by the new king from the various gardens, Buckingham Palace. Highgrove house and the like. And in there, the handwritten note from her son, the new king, it read, in loving and devoted memory. Charles R for Charles Rex, Latin for the king.
The town of Windsor is where the queen's final journey went. And the long walk. Now it's 2-1/2 miles is the avenue to the castle from Windsor Great Park. There was almost at capacity with mourners. As the hearse made along with this phenomenal procession made its way forward. Those who are camped out all night are determined to get the best set -- seat to watch the procession and some of those described it as a once in a lifetime occasion.
Sam Goss is the manager of the Castle Hotel in Windsor and he joins me now. Sam, what's it like?
SAM GOSS, MANAGER, CASTLE HOTEL WINDSOR: What an incredible day an honor and a privilege to be here in Windsor. Part of such a fitting send off for her majesty.
QUEST: How did you -- how did you fare at the -- at the hotel? What did you do?
GOSS: So, the hotel has been exceptionally busy. We were busy prior to the sad passing of Her Majesty. We made sure all of our guests were extremely well looked after, providing a bit of a refuge for people to come and sit and relax and reflect on the occasion and making sure that we played our small part in the send off to Her Majesty.
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QUEST: Now, the -- I guess one of the concerns, of course, that Windsor might not have the same resonance and King Charles, I mean, the queen who is essentially been living there for the last five years or so. Do you worry about that?
GOSS: We're fortunate to have King Charles to lead us forward. And we have William and Kate, now at Adelaide cottage based in Windsor as well. So we are very lucky to have such great neighbors and to be part of this wonderful community.
QUEST: What's your own memory of the day? What do you take away from the day?
GOSS: The love, the thoughts, the emotion, the coming together of not just England but the world to pay their respects, to pay their tribute to our amazing late queen. The ceremony that the country has put on, certainly very fitting. A very emotional day. And like I mentioned something that privileged to be part of this local community to pay our respects and tributes to the queen.
QUEST: Sam Goss, the manager of the castle, thank you.
Finally, for me, it has been a privilege to be back home in London this week and specially today. And to see for myself how the British spirit prevailed and to be a part of whatever was taking place because whatever your views on the monarchy, when the time came, the city and the country fell silent. And for a while this bustling metropolis cosmopolitan was unrecognizable. Have a look. This is Regent Street, many of you will be familiar with it.
Normally packed with shoppers and traffic and barely a soul. Some say it looks like the down -- the days of lockdown under COVID. This time it was stores closing to allow their staff to pay properly, their respects. And the skies were quieter too. Heathrow Airport had adjusted operations to reduce noise not only over central London, because of the Abbey but also because of Windsor.
There was also maybe one of the ways it went forward. It is almost impossible to describe the queen's devotion to service over her 70- year reign and where my words might fail. Well, we turn to hers once more. Let me leave you tonight. This is the queen in her own words.
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QUEEN ELIZABETH II, FORMER QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.
Today we need a special kind of courage, not the kind needed in battle but a kind which makes us stand up for everything that we know is right.
On our own, we cannot end wars or wipe out injustice, but the cumulative impact of thousands of small acts of goodness can be bigger than we imagine.
It's worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change. It is my hope that, when judged by future generations, our sincerity, our willingness to take a lead, and our determination to do the right thing will stand the test of time.
A long life can pass by many milestones, my own is no exception.
We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again.
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