The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • A8

8A SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2019 THE TENNESSEAN TN-GCI0138207-01 Animal Adventures Our crazy, wild, wonderful, heart-warming experiences with the critter kingdom. STORYTELLER: KARLEN EVINS May 6, 2019 Nashville Zoo at Grassmere Doors: 6 PM Show: 7 PM For tickets, visit: storytellerstickets.tennessean.com TN-GCI0172277-08 George H.W. advisers kept his wife Barbara out of the public eye during his presidential campaign in 1980. They thought she looked too old. Fast forward 12 years to his run.

By then, Barbara Bush had risen to be a shrewd political adviser to her husband, and was actually considered more pop- ular than the president. was practically riding her coat- said Susan Page, the author of a biography of Barbara Bush. Page spoke Thursday evening at Parnassus Books in Nashville. most fundamental premise is that she was constantly underestimat- she said. Page, the Washington Bureau chief for USA Today, interviewed Bush for hours in the six months of her life, and had access to diaries, which spanned from 1948 to her years.

Bush died just over a year ago. Page sat down with Michael Anasta- si, vice president of news at the USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee (which includes The Tennessean), to discuss Barbara life and legacy. Here are some excerpts from talk, edited and condensed for clarity. Losing daughter Robin made Bush stronger The moment for Barbara Bush, I believe, was when she was 28 years old and her three-year-old daugh- ter Robin was diagnosed with leukemia a disease neither George nor Barbara Bush had ever heard of before. No one at that point had ever been cured of leukemia.

They took her to Sloan Kettering in New York, where uncle was a doctor. They tried an early form of chemotherapy on her. It save her life. She passed away. It changed Barbara Bush.

It made her tougher on the outside. It made her, in a way, impervious to criticism because nothing worse could happen to her than what had already happened to her. All the money in the world, and the power and the political connections, and the uncle a famous doctor nothing made any when it came to trying to save Robin. In the years of her life she told a relative, is the most joyous time in my because see Robin Challenging stigma around AIDS This was in 1989, and Ronald Reagan had almost not discussed AIDS at all during his presidency, although the health crisis was exploding at that time. It was a point where some families were abandoning babies who were born with AIDS, when people were getting from jobs if they had AIDS because peo- ple want to work alongside them.

During the 100 days of her time as lady she made a visit to Grand- House, which is a hospice for in- fants with AIDS in Washington. She brought along news photographers and she went in and picked up this little boy with AIDS, hugged him, put her cheek next to his cheek. She wear rubber gloves. She was letting her skin touch his skin. These pictures were taken and trans- mitted around the world, and they sent this really powerful message.

She give a speech. She scold anybody. But she let this picture be taken that I think forced people to think about whether this stigma against AIDS was the right thing, or rather they should act in a way. Reach Mike Reicher at tennessean.com or 615-259-8228 and on Twitter Barbara biographer reveals insights at Parnassus Mike Reicher Nashville Tennessean USA TODAY NETWORK TENNESSEE Author Susan Page discusses her biography of Barbara Bush, at Parnassus Books in Nashville on Thursday. At right is Michael Anastasi, vice president of news at the USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee.

MIKE REICHER THE TENNESSEAN Hey, what ever happened to the race- track Interstate 840? It's a question popping up as the push for the return for NASCAR to Nash- ville's fairgrounds proves Unfortunately for those who want to start thinking about other homes for NASCAR, the Nashville Superspeedway in Wilson County is not the answer. A 147-acre parcel within the Super- speedway property sold last year to Pa- nattoni Development Company for about $5.1 million from Dover Motor- sports. Panattoni is undertaking a phased redevelopment that started with a industrial build- ing on a 1.5 million-square-foot building pad that was completed last fall. Panattoni will market and redevelop the property in phases that could lead to additional land purchases, partner Hamilton told the Tennessean last year. This deal and project is a game- changer for the Nashville industrial market, and brings a scale to this market that just existed to said Hamilton, who pointed to existing infra- structure and the immediate road sys- tem that includes I-840.

can provide a campus environ- ment for manufacturers and logistics companies with really unlimited expan- sion capabilities he said at the time. Panattoni did not immediately re- spond to a request for comment on this story. The company initially announced plans in 2016 to purchase the entire Nashville Superspeedway 1,250 acres property, but then elected to pursue a phased redevelopment for potential manufacturing, warehouse and distri- bution uses. But work around the racetrack is not the only reason that makes an unlikely candidate for NASCAR's return to the area. The track opened in 2001 and has been mostly shut down since 2011, when it couldn't attract a top-tier NASCAR race because of its limited son seating capacity.

Since then, Dover Motorsports has utilized the racetrack for rental use and it is often used to store cars for Nissan. The track 1.33 miles in length is also about 35 miles from downtown Nashville, far from the heart of the tour- ism hub that is such a desirable market for NASCAR. A-list names in the sport like Dale Earnhardt Darrell Waltrip and Kurt Busch have lauded the short-track Fair- grounds Speedway Nashville as among the best in the world. In the end, it seems like the only home NASCAR could have in Nashville if they can out how to make it work would be at the fairgrounds. Includes reporting by Andy Humbles.

Reach Yihyun Jeong at tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter Could NASCAR races be held at the Nashville Superspeedway? Yihyun Jeong Nashville Tennessean USA TODAY NETWORK TENNESSEE.