HomePeople honor Bush by posting pics of their colorful socks that helped make him a style icon

People honor Bush by posting pics of their colorful socks that helped make him a style icon

December 06, 2018 | by Junie Sihlangu

In 2007, former President George H.W. Bush was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Using a wheelchair to get around meant that his ankles were always visible.

Being constrained to a wheelchair caused how to grow his love of colorful socks. American’s have taken to social media to honor the late politician with images of their own colorful socks.

Former President George H.W. Bush, 94, was seen as a style icon when he started wearing colorful socks for public events. Now that he’s left to be with his late wife Barbara Bush, 92, fans are honoring him with a hashtag called #socksforBush.

A number of them have taken to social media to post their own colorful pairs. Bush’s love for quirky socks started when he began to rely on wheelchairs and scooters for mobility.

For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. That was because the former president's ankles were always on display as he sat in his wheelchair or scooter.

His daughter Dorothy Bush Koch described in her book, “My Father, The President" that her father had turned to bold socks as a way of thriving rather than simply coping with his condition.

She wrote:

“Brandishing colorful socks is simply his way of making the best of his mobility situation and still finding the joy in life.”

Bush wrote in a fundraising email from the Republican National Committee (RNC) in 2014:

"I'm a self-proclaimed sock man. The louder, the brighter, the crazier the pattern - the better."

He added:

“When Chairman Reince Priebus asked me to write to you on behalf of the Republican National Committee (RNC), I told him I'd be happy to do it. But on one condition: my letter to you had to involve socks.”

Subsequently, the RNC told its donors that they would receive a colorful pair of socks, with a symbol of an elephant, for a donation of $35 or more. In 2012, Bush gave an interview to his granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager for a Today Show segment.

At the time he stated, "I like a colorful sock. I'm a sock man.” Last spring, the politician wore book-themed socks to his wife’s funeral to commemorate her commitment to family literacy programs.

Bush once tweeted a photo showing him wearing a pair of socks with former President Bill Clinton's face on them. At the time, Clinton was visiting the politician.

The tweet read:

"Special visit today with a great friend -- and now, a best-selling author. Luckily I had a freshly laundered pair of @BillClinton socks to mark the occasion.”

In March, Bush wore a pair of socks sent to him by John Cronin, the co-founder of John's Crazy Socks. The socks were in support of World Down Syndrome Day.

In fact, the politician’s last pair of socks for his funeral will be planes flying in formation. The pair was to honor his service as a Navy pilot in World War II.

On Wednesday, Bush’s son and former President George W. Bush eulogized his father as a family man and devoted public servant. George Jr. described his father as a man who overcame brushes with death to live a full and accomplished life.  

While holding back tears, George Jr. borrowed his father’s signature phrase saying:

"To us, his was the brightest of a thousand points of light.”

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