Saluting one of my favorite politicians

Over the last few days, there has been an above-average amount of talk about Wyoming politics, primarily because of the Republican congressional primary between incumbent Liz Cheney and challenger Harriet Hageman.

But that’s not what I want to talk about in this space today. I want to talk about another politician I had the privilege of getting acquainted with during my time in Wyoming.

If you followed Washington politics closely enough during the 1980s and 1990s, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the name Alan Simpson. He served three terms in the United States Senate from Wyoming between 1979 and 1997 and was the Republican whip from 1985 to 1995.

Simpson arguably is a giant in Wyoming politics, not only figuratively but also literally, since he stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall (he was the tallest senator ever until 2017, when Luther Strange was appointed as a U.S. senator from Alabama).

As someone who followed politics, it was a pleasure and an honor to get to meet Simpson at a Park County GOP event in Cody I covered shortly after I moved to Wyoming, but more importantly, in the months I lived in Wyoming, I also discovered he has a great sense of humor and is a true gentleman.

The former was on display when we crossed paths again at an event displaying the art of Cody native Jackson Pollock. We were talking and he brought up a story I had told in one of my columns about a road trip I had taken to Utah Memorial Day weekend.

The story goes like this: Utah is one of the few places outside of the West Coast and the American Southwest you can find In-N-Out Burger. I had to visit one. But I didn’t stop there — I got a cooler and several blocks of dry ice, and bought eight double-double animal style burgers to take back to Wyoming with me. I was reheating and eating double-doubles animal style for quite a while afterwards.

Not surprisingly, he found the story a bit eccentric, but very funny — which I took as a major compliment coming from a political giant.

The latter — that he is a true gentleman — came in the form of a message on my office answering machine in September 2018. I had been diagnosed with melanoma the previous month and had a couple of procedures after that to make sure the cancer was excised and to ensure it had not spread. The week after it happened, I wrote about my experiences in another column.

Some time later, I was checking my voicemails and had one from Simpson. He had called to offer to help me find the treatment I might need for my cancer. While I had found out I was cancer-free by that point, for him to reach out was very touching — and demonstrated his heart and character.

I never have had a chance to tell him thank you for that voicemail. Maybe now I can.

Over the last few years, I’ve met a lot of people and even quite a few politicians. But Alan Simpson definitely stands above the pack.

Mike Buhler is a staff writer for the Daily American Republic. Contact him at mbuhler.dar@gmail.com.