Posted on 02/04/2005 3:09:55 PM PST by MJY1288
This morning President Bush participated in a discussion about Social Security reform at the Qwest Center Omaha Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. This afternoon he held another discussion about Social Security in Little Rock, Arkansas at the Robinson Center Auditorium. Finally late this afternoon the President attended a third town hall style meeting at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa Florida. At all three events President Bush was greeted by 10's of thousands of supporters, yet the mainstream media spends more time reporting about less than 2 dozen angry Democrats infected with the desease Liberalsim, than they spend on the Presidents message. We wont make that mistake here :-)
And we have a pancake supper at the church.
Snugs, I bought the ingredients for making flapjack today.
Will try it tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe. I've had bacon butties for 3 meals in a row. I'm sick now.
"as country as a sack of okra." ha. Did you steal that from the late Dan Rather?
OK, I'm getting my second wind, so here is the account of our eventful day.
My kids and I left at 4:08 AM (mr.h had to stay home to work on our house.) AFter an uneventful trip to Omaha we arrived right at 6 AM. The airport is just a mile or two from the Quest Center, and as we drove by the airport we saw Air Force 1! It was right by the road, but away from the airport. There were some trailer trucks parked in front of it to protect from anything 'bad." It was sooooo cool--I wish we would have had time to go past again, because we weren't expecting to see it.
There was a line of people, but it didn't take us long to get inside the building. It took till about 7:30 to get into the actual arena.
GWB was staying in the hotel attached to the Quest Center by a bridge; Secret Service agents were watching the crowd, and at one point one guy came and pulled a lady near us out of line, saying she could not take her water bottle into the arena. It was a hard plastic yellow colored bottle. She went to talk to the SS agents, saying she needed it for health reasons. She came back with an empty bottle.
Later on in line, I had to give up the snacks I'd put in my purse, and my bottle of water (I had been told it would be OK to take them in, but no big deal!).
Security was tight; we were told to have our cell phones and camers ON when they checked them at the metal detector. It went smoothly and we had a lot of fun people watching and speculating which people in line could have been SS agents, and where there were probably hidden cameras surveying the crowd. (there were about 10,000 people there in all).
Got in the arena and were seated in the nosebleed section, way off to the side, almost behind the stage where the Pres. would be. We were thrilled to be there, and even more thrilled when they opened up the sections next to us which were more towards the front of the stage; we moved twice and ended up having MUCH better seats.
It was exciting to watch the security people checking out the stage, and the news people, tho we were too far away to ID any of them.
The Pres. came in to great cheers--it was magical to see him in person, tho he's a lot smaller in person--especially where we sat--LOL!
I was very impressed that he spoke with NO notes! I guess I knew he did that, but it was different to see it in person. He was very articulate, and the way he explained things made a lot of sense. My kids, age 11 and 13, were impressed and "got" what he was saying.
People kept trickling in, and just as he started talking about Soc. Sec., a guy who had just walked in, about 10 feet in front of us, started screaming insults. As soon as he did, I, and the people around me, shouted him down and pointed at him; within seconds this little tiny security gal was dragging him out by his belt loop. The Pres. made his usual comment about "Freedom of speech." Security guards also removed (a little forcefully!) two "friends" who came in with him. I was surprised at the rage I felt at this guy, disparaging 'my' president!
We were spellbound by the speech, which lasted about 45 minutes. He introduced a man who had written several books about Soc. Sec; I thought the Pres. explained it better than this *expert* did!
He spoke to five people who had different stories about Soc. Sec. and how his proposals would help them. He introduced them with great respect, and listened to their stories intently, occasionally injecting a joke or comment.
After the speech we got out without trouble; we hoped to get close enough to the airport to see AirForce 1 take off. Outside the building there were some protesters about the Soc. Sec. proposed changes. A lady who had been at the speech commented "I don't see how they can think that way; he just told us it was OUR money and we should be able to do with it what we want." So obviously the issues are clear to those who think about it!
I know the building well (my kids show cattle and sheep there) so knew where the motorcade would come from, so we hung around in the parking lot till it left. We waved to it, took pictures--it was one of the highlights of the day.
We still tried to get to see AF1, but unfortunately traffic was stopped around the airport and we were behind the parking garage, so just saw the tail go by at high speed as it took off. It was less than 15 minutes between the time he left with the motorcade and AF1 took off. We were disappointed, but as we drove by where AF1 had been parked, we saw vans and obviously SS vehicles there, and many, many, men dressed in black with heavy armor and big guns getting out of their gear.
My kids said the day was "awesome"! We're all exhausted but so happy. Got the pictures back already! The digital ones are not as good as the ones here, so I'm not going to waste anyone's time posting them. Lots of good lessons, just an overall thrilling day. I'm sure we'll be on a "W High" for a long time.
Enough from me for now . . .
Hi snugs--
HOpe you are well today! I missed the Dose completely last night.
I've heard of Fat Tuesday but don't know the tradition.
He has always scared me. When I see him on TV, he seems almost .... unreal. He scares me.
The first-day-of-issue stamp dedication ceremony will also take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on Wed., Feb. 9, 2005.
Just a reminder about our Reagan and his stamp that will be issued Wed. 9 Feb.
Yes so do we officially have Shrove Tuesday but Pancake Day is common name for it so I wondered if that was the same when Dolly mentioned Fat Tuesday and from what you say it is.
Bite your TONGUE, girl!
When you find out he'll be speaking near you, call your local congressman or senator's office. I called an office near us, which is a smaller district, which is why I think I got tickets more easily; there was an article in the paper about how the tickets from the Lincoln and Omaha offices had been mostly allocated privately, and not offered to the public.
I'm planning to write a "thank you" letter to Congressman Tom Osborne's office to thank them for the tickets, partly in hopes of getting preferential treatment next time. :-)
My daughter also took notes all day; she's going to write a story for her english class, and also send it and a letter to the President.
Homemom, thanks, so much, for sharing your exciting day with us!! It's wonderful that your children also enjoyed the day. W really is a special man. He sure makes us proud.
GREAT REPORT, Thank You, I'm jealous :-)
The local Republican Party also usually gets tickets to distribute.
[I HIGHLY recommend that you read the 'reader responses' to this column!]
$$$$$
Thanks so much for the reminder. I skipped her column today when I saw the title "...George Bush ...is Back..."
One thing we KNOW is that W is constant.
Who I was reminded of during the SOTU was Cal Ripken. (I'm a Baltimorean.) Cal knew he was a great ballplayer, but he was extremely disciplined, and gave his very best in every game, no matter what. President Bush has the confidence now to know that what he is doing is right and good. He will maintain the discipline to keep up his energy and spirit to see his plans through.
Ahhh...how do you find out if he's going to be in the area? I looked all over the web and I couldn't find any itenerary.
So would the democratic congressmen as well as republicans be giving away tickets?
I thought, Joe Hadenuf and the Ol Swimmer are on the same wavelength (no pun intended) with the "let the Iraqis die for their own cause" tripe..
Sometimes I wonder if ALL our resident cranks aren't leftists.......
(I've been wondering all day if you got to see him!!)
Great report, homemom. What a wonderful experience for you and especially for your children.
The security surrounding every move he makes must be unbelievable. I know I would be completely suffocated by it, but maybe these people get used to it.
How in God's name can people protest the President wanting to make changes to Social Security? It just shows you that they hate anything and everything he does. These sheep take their cues from the Democrats in the Senate, they're just following their so-called 'leaders.' Can you imagine having those boils on the butt of humanity as your example for behavior?
I will never, ever understand how a mom could abandon her child, under ANY circumstances. I can't imagine how you felt, and still feel about that!
Although you will never forget what she did, and perhaps never "get over it" (I don't know how anyone could!) you are obviously a fine, loving, intelligent human being.
I appreciate your words of encouragement, as I'm sure all the moms here do--we all care about our kids soooo much! THANK YOU for that encouragement, especially for the moms of younger kids, when the days can seem soooooo long.
God bless you, and thank you for sharing your story, and for encouraging us. I hope you feel the love that is surrounding you tonight.
BEAUTIFUL POST!!! Perfect description of his life and its purpose! BEAUTIFUL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.