t likely won't surprise you to hear that I often disagreed with Senator Byrd's positions in the Senate. Nevertheless I find much to admire in the record of our longest-serving Senator. I was two years old when Robert Byrd was elected to Congress, eight when be became a Senator.

His career spanned wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He was senator during the turbulent Sixties. His service to our country spanned one of the times of greatest change that history has ever seen. In his youth Bird was a member of the Klan. He later rejected that affiliation and philosophy, and became a proponent of civil rights. Some conservatives wrongly continued to harp on his former association. Rather his heritage of repentance is commendable.

The Senator was famous for bringing money and Federal projects to his home state. My niece, for instance, worked for a Coast Guard installation, that was located a long way from the coast because of the senior Senator's influence. Some of us from other states may look forward to a broader spread of "pork." Dare we hope that our legislators would take a higher view, and work toward making the nation healthier, rather than making their constituents feel better? In spite philosophical differences, I admire that Bird looked out for his own.

The Senator was a lover of the US Constitution and the traditions of the Senate. Again, I might not always have agreed with how he interpreted our founding document, and there were times when he used the arcane Senate rules to obstruct what many of us thought should be expedited, and vice-versa, but we could use more of his dedication to doing it right.

Senator Bird is a powerful reminder that each of us are where we are for a purpose. We can make a difference. What are we doing with our opportunity?

It's STTA.