Houston, TX: No, this isn't my first rodeo (thank you Kenny Chesney, circa 2004), but this is my first time to have lunch with a former president. As in... of the United States of America.
A few weeks leading up to our scheduled engagement at the Rodeo, I was working on the details of our trip and was engaging in a little email banter with the boss.
Boss: I have a lunch scheduled for Wednesday in Houston.
Me: Sounds good. Can I help with any details?
Boss: No, it’s all set. Would you go to lunch with me?
Me: Of course and thanks!
Boss: Great. It’s with President Bush, Sr.
Me: Um… wow.
Me: As in the President of the United States George H. W. Bush Sr.?
Me: Are you SURE you want ME to go with you?
Boss: Very sure.
So there I was, being invited to go to lunch with a former president. As in, there are only 44 people who have held this office EVER and I am going to share a meal with one of them. I don’t care what my personal politics are, this was a HUGE opportunity that simply does not happen often.
The day arrived and it turns out he was going to pick us up from the hotel. I had a visual of him pulling up in a beetle, but instead he was in the backseat of a gold SUV driven by two secret service agents, followed by another gold SUV driven by two more secret service agents.
Before lunch, we made a stop at the hospital to visit the Mrs., who had just undergone open heart surgery. We walked past another two secret services agents, into the nicest hospital room I’ve ever seen and the boss surprises her. We visited for 30 minutes or so and this woman immediately charms me. She is FUNNY and intelligent and doesn’t miss a beat. Watching the couple interact together brings to mind my Grandparents – Grandma Snell is definitely the storyteller of the two. She said she is feeling great and ready to get out of there. “Friday, right?” she not so much asks, but tells her doctor.
As we say our goodbyes, I give her a copy of "Find Your Way Home" – a book of healing, which I hope she will enjoy during this phase of her journey. Some of the women from Thistle Farms had actually signed it, so it was even more special for me to share something so personal with her.
Now, it’s off to lunch and I tried to stay in the moment and be in the present but all I could think is “how on earth did I get here?!” The two bantered about their mutual friends (“How are Vince and Amy?”), their jobs (“last time when I was at Camp David…”) and their families (“you know, Jenna got married last year”). I knew who they’re talking about, I’d seen pictures about the places they’ve been, but it was hard for me to interject any of my own personal experience into the conversation that would actually add to the piece.
Somehow we got talking about sleep and he said how much he enjoys his Tempur-Pedic mattress Barb got him a few years back. The boss hadn't tried it out before and isn’t really convinced. There was my moment to shine! The was the “we’re on the same playing field” moment! There was the “look at us, three average people, sitting around, talking about bedding!”
I chimed in:
“Oh – my parents have one and they love it! My Dad can literally roll over and my Mom can’t feel him moving at all!”
I sat back and enjoyed the nods and smiles I get from my lunch dates and was proud to be an American. Or at least proud to be able to have SOME conversation piece to bring back with me.
After salads and pastas and a bit of pinot grigio and two scoops of sorbet each, we bid him farewell… and I really did need to get some work done. After a couple of quick pictures (thank you, generous boss, for letting me be in the shot too!) and a hug and a kiss on the cheek, I headed back to work, still amazed at what just happened.
No, this isn’t my first rodeo, but, my fellow Americans – it was, by far, my most memorable.
