That picture really speaks to me. It’s those dedicated front of the line folks, that get in first. I’ve been on exactly one crowd line in all of my political junkie days.
President GWB, came to Springfield, IL, to the old Armory. We were one of the first in line, getting there at the crack of dawn. I shook his hand and said- We’re praying for you Mr. President. He said- That’s the best thing you can do.
I held a micro tape recorder in my left hand and recorded the exchange. A young man that I know and that I have befriended, taking him to professional baseball games, who is developmentally challenged, would come by a little office that I rented in a building he cleaned the restrooms in, to hear the tape, over, and over, and over again.
If he saw me outside my office in town somewhere, he would come up to me and say what I said to President Bush- We’re praying for you Mr President. I would then quote the President’s lines back to him- That’s the best thing you can do. Of course, I was expected to say those lines each and every time he saw me, as the exchange was a bit of a game between us. Fun stuff. I earned the honor of him calling me Uncle Perry. ;O)
It pays to get up just one time in your life, ahead of everyone else, and be at the front of the line, for something that is meaningful to you. Meeting the President was cool, but I treasure the back and forth with “Timmy” and nobody else in that town has that relationship with him, nor do they know what the heck we’re talking about when we do it.
Get in the front of that line!!! Woot! Woot!