I do want people to know that Kirby was a very happy man and that retirement gave him the opportunity to do things he always wanted to do. He was just ready to live the rest of his life.

Kirby wasn't a very romantic man at times. He bent down on one knee and showed me the ring and asked me if I would spend the rest of my life with him.

She was just very supportive, and I thank her for that. I know a lot of people think it would have been bitter. It wasn't. She embraced me, and we cried, and she was very nice.

It's almost like he was given an opportunity to say goodbye to people without knowing it.

These seats - they only come up once every 30 or so years, so that makes it a real opportunity. Because it's a safe seat, it allows whoever is elected to take leadership on significant issues of national importance - wherever the passions lie.

I know there's been bad things said about Kirby. I wouldn't know that Kirby.