the irish lass

Veterans Day Week

Last March, on the anniversary of his death, I blogged a weeklong tribute to B.T. Collins, a favorite person of mine. My good friend, former State Senate Republican Leader Jim Nielsen wanted to add his thoughts.

Special to The Irish Lass
B.T. Collins-A Simple Truth

Often I remember and rejoice the life and times of B.T. Collins. Our paths crossed and my life is far richer for the twain that met.

I was a not so worldly and only a little wise Senator then. B.T. was not yet a legend and was shaking things up at the formerly backwater California Conservation Corps. We fancied our mutual frankness. Knowing his heart I was surprised when he took the job of Chief of Staff to Governor Jerry Brown. B.T. seemed everything Governor Brown wasn’t. B.T. loved maximum challenge and that was a challenge.

The farmer in me loved his Malathion cocktail as he scorned doubters during the Mediterranean fruit fly wars. We bonded in spirit January 1980 when B.T. sent me a Bill Bennett column titled “Simple Truths.” Bennett defined “Simple Truths” as those life maxims that “are simply utterly true no matter how many mental somersaults one turns to deny them and cast them as problems.” B.T. penned, “Thought of you when I read this-you are not alone!” B.T. A picture of B.T. his wry smile and a laughing senator at his side, his note and the column are treasures that grace my library wall. He lived by “simple truths!”

Reverently irreverent-that was B.T. He took life seriously, but not so often himself or others. A master at turning the tides his way, he remained unpretentious- a leader. He conquered adversity with aplomb, with dignity even relish and reveled in his quests. His crusty demeanor belied his tender, generous heart. He was a man of quiet kindnesses, quick to lend a hand to pick up a fallen foe and he never forgot your own thoughtfulness towards him.

His inimitable left slanted signature, B. T., adorns many memorials. His greatest memorial is in our hearts, the hearts of the man lives he enriched.

B.T. Collins- a simple truth!

--Jim Nielsen

B.T. Collins Tribute

Geoff Metcalf
Of Better Men

B.T.'s Readers Digest Article
The Courage of Sam Bird

Mark Shields
I've Never Liked Any Politician More

The California Viet Nam Vets Memorial

Joseph Galloway's speech at The Wall

B.T.'s Wall Street Journal Article

Burying Tradition, More People Opt for "Fun" Funerals
Wall Street Journal Article about B.T.'s Funeral/Wake

B.T. Collins "Captain Hook" Scholarship at Santa Clara University

"No whining! No crying! We are the fortunate ones. We lived when so many better men all around us gave up their lives for us. We owe them an obligation to live every day to its maximum potential; to work every day to make this country and this world a better place for our children, and their children."
- B.T. Collins