Robert C. Byrd visits Huntington

Robert C. Byrd didn't arrive at Marshall University today by car, limousine, SUV or helicopter. He arrived in the back of a small RV. When the door opened, he stood there for a few moments with two canes in his left hand.

There has been some talk lately out of Washington, D.C., that Byrd is having trouble getting around, that he used a cane in each hand, and that he didn't always sit at his desk in the Senate chambers because of limited mobility. (Source: Syndicated columnist Jules Witcover). But when he got to Huntington, the only hint of any such problem was his use of his canes. Otherwise, he was the same old Robert C. Byrd.

He was here to speak at the dedication of the new Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Building on the Marshall campus. The building will house some faculty and classes of both the College of Science and the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Byrd used his influence in the Senate to secure $36.5 million in funding for the new building.

When he stepped out of the RV, Byrd walked up the street toward the Marshall band rather than had straight into the building. After that, he walked toward the building and into the lobby.

He sat through several speeches, and then it was his turn to speak.

His voice isn't as strong as it has been in years past, but Byrd knew how to work his crowd. He started with a poem, then worked the crowd by leading a cheer of "We Are... Marshall." He spoke from his prepared remarks, often winging it by adding a few choice words impromptu. Most of his speech was what his staff had written for him, but Byrd knew when to deviate from the prepared text.

At one point he called himself "Big Daddy" twice when he told how he obtained the federal money for the new building. In the first paragraph of his prepared remarks, he went off script. Where he was supposed to say "right here at Marshall University," he said "right here, in the center of the world."

Byrd's legs may not be what they once were, but he appears to have every bit of his intellect working.