I admit it... I'm a flying snob

I don't expect any sympathy from anyone but I had to share that I successfully flew commercial today. It's been a while. But I have to tell you, I don't like it much. I totally admit that I am a flying snob.

Today I spent the day in Edison, New Jersey for a fundraiser with the President. To be totally honest, I'm not exactly sure why I came but in any case there was no press charter so we had to make here on our own. I chose to fly over taking the train or just renting a car and driving up here, which in hindsight was NOT the way to go. But I did survive. With my line of work, I'm used to flying on a charter plane or on the plane with Mr. Bush but I'm amazed that some business people deal with all of this all the time- sometimes multiple times a WEEK! I'm used to showing up an hour or so before the flight at the AFB and then riding a bus across the tarmac (or just walking) to board the plane. Then we eat constantly on the plane and have a few rows to ourselves. Did I mention how much food we usually get served including the tray of candy bars that comes AFTER the dessert tray? And on a commercial flight you get a bag of seven pretzels?!? The whole thing is just SUCH a hassle!! Luckily it was a quick flight and I fell asleep so I barely noticed that I actually had to sit next to another person! Oh the inhumanity! :)

So Long Cindy!

I know this will upset many, but Cindy Sheehan has given us notice that she's quitting. That's right, she's no longer going to be the face for the anti-war movement. All I have to say, is thank goodness. It's beyond time! And I'm not basing this on political beliefs. I feel sorry for the lady but her five minutes of fame went on for hours and hours and it was time for her to get out of the public spotlight.

I spent my Thanksgiving in 2005 with her, her sister DeeDee and about 40 of their followers and I have to say it was one of the weirder experiences of my life. They served rice and lentils and had some bizarre "spiritual" ceremony. When it came time for her to do a book signing, no one was there to get their book signed. That was the official "jump the shark moment" in my book. Many argue it was much earlier than that. But in any case, I'm not sad to see her go. I think Crawford will be better for it. Here's part of her letter to the American people...

"I am going to take whatever I have left and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost. I will try to maintain and nurture some very positive relationships that I have found in the journey that I was forced into when Casey died and try to repair some of the ones that have fallen apart since I began this single-minded crusade to try and change a paradigm that is now, I am afraid, carved in immovable, unbendable and rigidly mendacious marble...This is my resignation letter as the "face" of the American anti-war movement. This is not my "Checkers" moment, because I will never give up trying to help people in the world who are harmed by the empire of the good old US of A, but I am finished working in, or outside of this system. This system forcefully resists being helped and eats up the people who try to help it. I am getting out before it totally consumes me or anymore people that I love and the rest of my resources. "

BTW, she's selling her land in Crawford. It's five acres RIGHT next to the railroad tracks. But the good news is is that it's very close to "downtown"! She says she's accept any reasonable offer!

It started out a quiet morning...

So today at work seemed like it was going to be a very quiet day. That's the first sign that there is going to be a press conference called. And that was the case this morning in the Rose Garden. It's amazing how quickly it can go from totally quiet to completely busy in a matter of seconds. My network was travel pool today so we had a little more logistically to do than normal but it all happened like clockwork and turned out to be a nice day at the White House. The President talked about Iraq quite a bit but apparently I missed one of the more interesting parts of the event. According to some of my colleagues, apparently the President was hit by droppings of a bird flying by about thirty minutes into the presser. I definitely didn't see it and the President didn't cause any ado. And no one was really talking about it directly afterwards so it couldn't have been that bad but I apparently missed the whole thing!!

Ernest Goes to Senior Night

I'm not referring to the late Jim Varney character. It's finally here! Tonight is Senior Night/Awards Ceremony at Community Club, which is a tutoring organization for inner-city DC students. Ernest, my student that I've tutored through CC, is a senior and will graduate in June! But after six years, tonight is the night we celebrate the senior class and we made it! I've tutored Ernest every Thursday night for the past six years and this is my last Thursday night of tutoring! Wooo hoooo!! To be totally honest, I am kind of looking forward to having Thursday nights free. But more important than that, I'm just really proud of Ernest for surviving high school and with not that much help from me! Here is what we wrote about each other for the program tonight (we'll see if he will agree to read it aloud in front of everyone at the ceremony)....


Ernest's comments on Becky
"I when I arrived at Community Club in 2001 I didn’t know what to expect and when I first met Becky I was shy but I quickly got over my shyness. I know she probably thought that with her unpredictable schedule I would want another tutor, but Becky has been there for me more than she realizes from the early days when I had to cut out news articles on current events to taking me to her job to help me do projects. Then as I got older taking the time to discuss politics and current news with me. I never thought I would be here for six years but they were the best six years of my life. I will truly miss Becky as I head off to college. She was more than just my tutor; she is and always will be my friend."


Becky comments on Ernest:
"When I came to Community Club in 2001, I had no idea that I would stay long enough to make it all the way to the stage!! I met Ernest the first night of tutoring when he was in 7th grade and we were in the room for the younger grades. He was just about my height (believe it or not!) and I noticed he didn’t talk much. I wondered how this was going to work since he was on the shy side. It's been amazing to see how quickly we went from barely talking to becoming friends who share many things in common.
I have enjoyed watching Ernest grow into the wonderful young man he has become. I know it's cliche to say that he has taught me more than I taught him but I believe that is true in our case. He has such a positive attitude on life and that has rubbed off on me over the years. I've also enjoyed discussing history and current events and he has opened my eyes to a new perspective. Through my job and travel, my schedule has been unpredictable at times and I appreciate Ernest so much for his understanding and patience with me. At the end of each school year, I kept thinking he'd probably want a new tutor but the fact that he has stuck by me for six years has meant so much to me.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my appreciation to his mother, Betty. She has also been extremely patient with me and my schedule through the years but still made it a priority to let me share in his life on Thursday nights. I will miss getting my weekly hellos and hugs from her.
I know Ernest is destined to do great things in the future whatever that might entail. I not only wish him the best of luck as he starts college next year but pray that God will richly bless him and his family. I know that our friendships will extend way beyond the great organization of Community Club. "







Let me brag for a second. My company recently gave Community Club a $1000 grant in honor of my volunteer service. I thought that was exceptionally nice! Community Club will use it for scholarships and towards a summer study program in South Africa for several of the students. See, my corporation has done at least one good thing!!

Random musings on Texas

So this afternoon, I'm heading home from Texas but before I leave I wanted to update you on a few things. No, I never saw the President and yes, it was a pretty quiet weekend. Yes, I did see the Crawford Jail which consisted of four metal bunks in a tin shed with various rodents running around. I can confirm that it's been at least 7 decades since they've had a visitor. I'm not sure if Crawford has an Otis-the-town-drunk or not but if they do, he's been staying somewhere else.

And I did get to go shopping downtown. Both stores. I felt like I needed to contribute to Crawford's economy in some way because nobody else is here except the media. However, I already have enough stuff that says "Western White House" on it. There's only so many coasters one girl can have! But I did find a few things that I can give away as presents. Please don't laugh in my face when you get any "WWH" merchandise from me in the future. Don't worry, I didn't purchase any of the belt buckles the size of Texas.

The highlight of my free time here has been my trip to a ranch near the President's ranch. We have an agreement where we pay this couple (the Bradfords) some money and they let us try to get pictures of the Pres from their land. It's right next door but in Texas that doesn't mean all that close but it's about as near as anyone can actually get. The Bushes are really, really secluded when they are at their ranch. Anyway, my friend Mark was driving me through the Bradford's property and I discovered why the President has been clearing brush for the past six years (there's a TON of brush and the Pres's ranch is 1600 acres.) I also found that Texas is not really all that flat and it is much prettier than what I have previously given credit to. The wildflowers were absolutely beautiful! I even saw a few of the famous Blue Bonnets. We also saw some canyons and cliffs and ponds and things that changed my mind about Texas. I forgot my camera at the school but I made Mark take my picture because the wildflowers were so pretty.



When I get home, I'm going to have to fast. And not for spiritual reasons. I've done nothing but eat this weekend. These Texans know how to eat! My body is getting used to actually eating three absolutely enormous meals a day (plus the free ice cream.) I seriously think I've gained 5 pounds in three days. I even skipped going out last night to the Hog Creek Icehouse Bar and Saloon (which I'm sure would have been the absolutely ultimate Texas experience!) I just need to get back to DC and back to a normal eating routine.

Also, one final note. Thanks for the messages about my blog. At the suggestion of a good friend, I am making the promise that I won't be one of those bloggers who blog every day for a week and then forget about it for months and years at a time. Of course I will slack off from time to time but I will certainly promise to hit the highlights. Seriously, I don't have that interesting of a life, just a fairly unique job. But the good news is that weird stuff happened to me before I got my job and will continue to occur long after I've moved on from this experience!

Two highlights of my week

Being that it is Saturday and I am working and have nothing better to do, I thought I'd recap my week. Don't worry, not all of it but there are a couple of things worth mentioning.

One fun experience this week was on Thursday morning. Outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair was visiting the President and they had a press conference in the Rose Garden. It was Mr. Blair's last trip to the US as PM so the presser was all about the relationships between the countries, the friendship between Bush and Blair, etc. And since I love all things British, it was a very cool thing. But here's the BEST part of the whole deal. Prior to the event, I told a friend in the WH press office that it was my friend Kelly's birthday (she's the NBC correspondent). Normally in the case of a bilateral presser, each world leader calls on two journalists for a total of 4 questions. That happened and then the next thing you know, the President calls on Kelly for a 5th question and says "I understand it's your birthday today Kelly. Do you want me and Mr. Blair to do a little duet?" It was really funny and to think that I only had to tell one person to give a direct message to President of the United States!!! Pretty bizarre!!

The other equally unique experience of this week actually happened last Sunday. I spent my day in Jamestown, Virginia celebrating America's 400th anniversary. The President came down for it but I wasn't on Air Force One with him. We actually had to drive. Ourselves. No press charter. No special treatment. We even had to use portapotties (ironically named "King's Flush"). Despite the hardships that I think could have parallelled the early settlers, it was still very cool. (Ok, I admit they probably had it a bit worse but I still HATE portapotties!) To think that I was walking where my ancestors had been 400 years before was a very neat experience. (Well I found out we weren't there in 1607 but more like 1630 but still that's pretty close!) We were entertained throughout the day by various bands, dance groups, etc. all of which had ties to my great Commonwealth. I was so proud to be a true Virginian!! And by the way, I kept trying to use my heritage as a privilege to use a real bathroom but it did absolutely no good. Maybe if I had been in colonial-period costume, they would have taken pity on me!

I guess after these two experiences and seeing the Queen last week, I'm all British-ed out! I'm not sure if there's anything left to do except to actually go there! Maybe I'll spend the rest of my free time today planning a trip! :)

Hanging out in Crawford, Texas

So I'm spending the weekend with the President in Crawford, TX which believe me sounds much, much more glamorous than it actually is. Most of the time we're here, we don't actually ever see the President at all. We actually stay in Waco, about 30-40 minutes away and when you have to do a liveshot at 7a ET/6a CT and you have to be at work an hour beforehand and it takes 40 minutes to get there, you have to leave at 5:15 ET/4:15 CT and that kind of sucks. Our workspace is in the gym at Crawford Middle School. (Go Pirates!) But the good part is that they cater breakfast and lunch and there's always plenty of free ice cream on hand. Somehow all-you-can eat Blue Bell ice cream and then Katie's Custard makes up for the fact that I'm sleep deprived!

The last time I was here was the week between Christmas and New Year's in which it was the craziest week ever in Crawford. President Ford died the day we got here and then Saddam was executed a few days later. It was insane! But so far (knock on wood), there's nothing going on this weekend so maybe I'll actually have some down time and get to go shopping in "downtown" Crawford again (well there are only two stores so it shouldn't take that long.) I heard that there is a jail in Crawford which I'm sure probably hasn't had any visitors since the early 1900s but I'm going to try to check that out as well!

But the weirdest thing happened to start off my trip. We had to meet up at the Dulles Marriott to go to our press plane and while we were gathering, someone mentioned that Erik Estrada was at the bar. One of my friends in the press was SOOO excited and so my friend Liz and I went with her to track him down. He was standing outside and my friend was a bit star-struck (or disappointed that he doesn't look the same as he did in 1983) so I somehow found myself as the one carrying on the conversation with Ponch! He was traveling to Texas and I ALMOST convinced him to get on the charter with us. He was very excited when we told him there would be cheese on the charter! But alas, he was going to Dallas, we were going to Waco. So it just didn't work out. Too bad because I really would have loved filling out an expense report mentioning Erik Estrada's name!

Welcoming myself into the blogosphere!

So I used to be really good about keeping a journal over the past decade but lately I've been a bit of a slacker. But I realize that if I ever want to write a book one day, it would be helpful to have something to reference to. Also, whenever I get to see anything cool, like the Queen or some world leader, I'm telling the same story twenty times and apparently some people are actually interested in my stories. So I've decided to try my hand at blogging. At some point, eventually I might be doing this as part of my job so I might as well get some practice. When blogs first started to be popular, I thought there was no way I would ever take part but then I began to realize it is just an on-line venue for my thoughts and memories. Maybe it will make the eventual book-writing thing a lot easier. :) So here I am, new to the blogosphere! Let the games begin!