April 24, 2008

Ry and Roman Robinson listen to President Clinton.


Yesterday I took the kids to hear Bill Clinton speak. I really really really did. And wow, was it ever surreal. We were in the backyard neighborhood ballpark behind our tiny local library. We were about 400 strong. It was as I imagine an event from the 1950s might look, as I knew -seriously- the first name of at least
half of the people there.
There were secret service guys. There were police cars. There was some yellow tape.
But basically there were a lot of families milling around waiting FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE FREAKING UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to show up. I could have, at any point, rushed the stage. The stage, by the way, was the back of a pickup truck. He stood in the back of a truck over home base. We gathered around to hear him. He signed autographs. He smiled. He was a nice fella. Then we all went home. And that's it. It was bizarrly simple, understated, intimate, real, and calm.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I got to see Hillary speak back when Bill was running. She came to my college and gave a speech. It was awesome! I didn't get any pictures, though.

Anonymous said...

I think I am most impressed by his beautiful white hair and the secret service agents all a flutter....oh, and is his face REALLY that red???

K said...

His face is really that red. I would say it was sunburn. But then his hands would be red too. His face is glow-in-the-dark-red. Rosacea? Maybe he was just nervous before the mighty citizens of Our Small Town...