Ron Reagan will address the Democratic National Convention on the subject of stem cell research. Ron is the son of Ronald Reagan who was a "B" movie actor and spokesman for General Electric before dying this past month without saying very much about stem cells. Ron Reagan, however, has devoted most of his life to stem cell research. "I have been examining stem cells for the past 20 years, and will be very happy to tell Democrats all about it.
"I started out with a toy microscope that my dad gave to me. As a child, I quickly tired of looking at dirty pond water and human hairs under the microscope. Then one day my mom took me to the supermarket. While she was talking to the Produce Manager, I wandered through all the displays of fresh apples, pears, cherries and peaches. Noticing something strange coming out the ends of some of these fruits, I took a cherry over to the Produce Manager and asked him about it."
The Produce Manager said "Why son, that's a stem! Most fruits grow on stems!"
Ron Reagan continued: "I got my mom to buy several types of fruit that day---and made sure each one of them had stems. At home I examined each stem under my microscope. My research into stem cells started that very day."
"The first thing I tackled was the apple stem grooving capillovirus.
I was amazed at what those stem cells looked like under my microscope. Within a year, I found a cure for the awful virus and was awarded a big prize from the Apple Institute."
Then I turned my attention to the serious problem Prunus stem pitting virus.
It was my work in this field that attracted the attention of the Democratic National Committee. I think it's kind of funny: I thought that they were some kind of political party who nominated tall men to be President. But if they're really interested in my stem cell research, I guess I'll go down to their convention and tell them all about it. Perhaps some day I'll be able to get the Republicans interested in stem cell research too!
