The Everett, Washington Herald today has an interview with RN’s brother Ed Nixon concerning his new book The Nixons: A Family Portrait.
In the article, Ed explains that it was partly thanks to his famed elder sibling that he developed an interest in the field in which he came to make his professional career.
In 1939, having saved up enough money as a young lawyer to buy a new car, RN decided to travel to Michigan to buy an Oldsmobile and drive it back to California. Taking nine-year-old Ed along, the future President went by train to Chicago, then Detroit. After acquiring the vehicle, RN and Ed went back to the Windy City, then returned to Whittier by way of the famed Route 66. Near Winslow, Arizona, the pair stopped to take a look at the awe-inspiring Meteor Crater, and this stirred young Ed’s interest in geology, which he subsequently made his life’s work.
The article also notes that Ed “believes that Richard Nixon’s achievements are being recognized,” and quotes him as saying: “Healing has come with patience. You see the total life of the man.”