Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Don't Cry for Me, California
Last week's Republican debate at the Reagan Library--and the numerous references to Reagan by the candidates--reminded me of a story I once heard about Argentine general/president Juan Peron.
Back in the 70s, after almost two decades in exile, Peron was elected president again, and by then he was on his third wife, IIRC. However, the latest Mrs. Peron simply did not have the charisma possessed by his first wife, Evita. (Yes, that Evita.)
Juan and Mrs. Peron weren't the only ones returning to Argentina...Evita's corpse, which had been exiled along with Juan, was going back to Buenos Aires as well. One of Juan's closest advisors just happened to be a warlock, so before they all left, this practitioner of the occult arts suggested that the latest Mrs. Peron lie on top of Evita's casket, and he performed some rituals designed to lift the spirit of Evita from her long-dead body into Juan's current wife.
Apparently, it didn't work, because once back in Argentina, Juan died after only a short time in office and then was succeeded by Mrs. Peron, under whom the entire country collapsed into chaos. She was overthrown in a coup by one of the most brutal military regimes in Argentine history.
Despite that sorry record, I wouldn't be surprised if several of the Republican candidates had brought their own warlocks to the Reagan Library in order to lift the spirit of old Ronnie from his corpse into their own bodies.
Oh, and interestingly enough, both Evita and Ronald Reagan were former movie stars.
Back in the 70s, after almost two decades in exile, Peron was elected president again, and by then he was on his third wife, IIRC. However, the latest Mrs. Peron simply did not have the charisma possessed by his first wife, Evita. (Yes, that Evita.)
Juan and Mrs. Peron weren't the only ones returning to Argentina...Evita's corpse, which had been exiled along with Juan, was going back to Buenos Aires as well. One of Juan's closest advisors just happened to be a warlock, so before they all left, this practitioner of the occult arts suggested that the latest Mrs. Peron lie on top of Evita's casket, and he performed some rituals designed to lift the spirit of Evita from her long-dead body into Juan's current wife.
Apparently, it didn't work, because once back in Argentina, Juan died after only a short time in office and then was succeeded by Mrs. Peron, under whom the entire country collapsed into chaos. She was overthrown in a coup by one of the most brutal military regimes in Argentine history.
Despite that sorry record, I wouldn't be surprised if several of the Republican candidates had brought their own warlocks to the Reagan Library in order to lift the spirit of old Ronnie from his corpse into their own bodies.
Oh, and interestingly enough, both Evita and Ronald Reagan were former movie stars.
