.....Suddenly a cheer came up from the crowd in front of us on the other side of the runway. I looked to my right, and a huge door was opening at the base of the ramp maybe 8 ft away. There were quite a few people to my right and behind me, so it was difficult to see exactly what was going on. Imagine my surprise when the nose of a huge BUS pulled up on the ramp. The crowd went wild.
I didn't think the noise could get any louder. But all of a sudden there was a huge roar from the crowd. GW and Laura got off the bus to waving flags and massive cheering.
They walked along the runway, waving to supporters on each side. I think I established eye contact briefly with Laura for just a moment.
There were Secret Service people standing in the area between our "Space" and the runway. They were constantly scanning the crowd. One of the young men was standing in front of me to my left (occasionally blocking my view of the podium). You could tell by the tenseness of his jaw that he wished he had GW alone somewhere in a cave rather than in the middle of this crowd even though we'd all been screened carefully.
I just have to say, Laura looks 20 lbs slimmer in person than she does on TV. I got to look at her backside for quite some time and was amazed at how much slimmer she looks in person.
Laura introduced the President, more cheers. Since I had watched his speech in Detroit last week, I'd already heard it.
Hearing it the second time, in person, and seeing the crowd reaction to it convinced me that we MUST use 9-11 in subtle ways, as a campaign issue.
When our President says (paraphrasing)..."When thugs come onto our shores and kill and maim our citizens, we will hunt them down".... the crowd goes wild. Granted, this was a very Republican crowd, but I honestly believe if the RNC develops that message we cannot lose in November.
The President spoke for a little more than an hour. His closing remarks were met with another roaring cheer,, suddenly there he was in front of me shaking hands with the people along the front row of our space.
I grasped his left hand, established eye contact, and said "We are praying for you Mr. President." He nodded in acknowledgment of my message and moved on. In an instant he crossed to the other side and began working the crowd on the other side.
As he worked the crowd on the other side of the runway it was easy to see the Secret Service men attempting to protect him. One guy had his hand on the President's waist. Another guy positioned himself scrunched up right beside the President as if to protect him from the crowd.
Somewhere along the line, the bus the President and Laura had arrived on was backed down the ramp and the door closed.
Finally, the President worked his way all along the line across from us. He came back up on the runway and shook hands with those who were seated in the first to rows of seats. He paused and spoke with Hayden Fry (who shares second place to God with Dan Gable). And then he was gone.
It was another 15 minutes before they released us from our area. My feet were numb. My hips and knees were screaming in pain. And I was a happy camper.
I was one of the fortunate ones who was able to catch a bus back to the parking ramp. Tons and tons of people walked.
And somewhere in one of these photos is pictured IG's sleeve, lol...
