Political Quotes

“A 102-year-old woman--kind of unique--who is a naval veteran, a female naval veteran, who is now 102 and she is a Louisianan and she exemplifies the best of our State: hard work, service, and faith. She turned--Mary Hajek Nugent--turned 102 years young this month. Born on a farm near Libuse, LA, Mary has always been a hard worker. She grew up tending vegetable gardens, a fruit orchard, and farm animals before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, building planes at a bomber plant, and serving as a parachute rigger. For some reason, if I were a guy using a parachute, I would rather have a woman rigging it for me rather than some guy. I don't know why. But I think she would have been more attuned to the detail of making sure that when that ripcord was pulled, the guy using it landed slowly and softly and not (motioning). After World War II, she returned to central Louisiana and devoted her time and talents to the tuberculosis unit at Pineville Veterans Hospital. She later worked at the downtown Alexandria Veterans Affairs office, where she met her husband Robert Nugent. I am told Mrs. Nugent still greets people with a warm smile and has a deep appreciation for nature. Perhaps her habit of looking for the good in everything and in everyone is the secret to a long life, something we in Washington should adopt.”