HOUSTON – The statue of President George H.W. Bush at the Sesquicentennial Park at Franklin and Bagby in downtown Houston is attracting all kinds of people wishing to pay their respects to the late president.
The many visitors over the weekend included an urban sketch artist named Peter Norris, who sketches important places and events in Houston.
Norris had several connections to President Bush. His father went to Yale at the same time as the president and they were both naval aviators.
They lived in Midland at the same time and Norris remembers when the president was a spectator for Houston marathoners.
"He would be at the Houston Marathons. When you run the marathon -- as long as he could anyway -- he'd be toward the end where Memorial goes under Loop 610, he'd be there cheering people on, usually wearing some crazy socks," Norris said. "It was always a boost to see him at that point. It was like Mile 20."
Not everyone can run a marathon and hardly any marathoners have a president cheering them on. But today is the day we all get a little nod from him.