The First Lady
So Laura Bush has been in town for a few days.
I went to a few events she appeared at yesterday, and one of them dovetailed nicely with a story I had been meaning to do for awhile, so I finally managed to get something in the newspaper. It's very short, seeing as there were arrests in London yesterday, but if you want to look, be my guest.
The first lady's first stop was a visit to a maternity ward in the township of Khayelitsha, where a group called the Mothers Programmes operates. The secret service had come in force well in advance of her arrival, and required everyone to be there about two hours early, including all these HIV-positive moms who didn't have much of a clue as to who this Laura Bush woman was. Watching their amused expressions while a secret service agent ran a metal-detecting wand over them was priceless. The chest of one bosomy woman was setting off the wand, until she reached into her bra and took out her cell phone, whereupon it was everyone else's turn to laugh at the look on the secret service agent's face.
I should say that the secret service people were largely very good natured and the whole process of watching them secure the room was quite interesting.
The funniest moment of the day came at the end of her visit. The secret service whisked the first lady out the back entrance to the room where everyone was gathered, and I bolted out the front, with a pressing need to find the facilities. But I ended up in the same room as the first lady again, as the secret service appeared that they had only taken her out the back because it was part of some circuitous route that might have thrown someone off if they were looking to do her harm.
So there I was fumbling with the keys in the lock for the bathroom, when she comes blowing into the room again, saying hello to all the women at the front desk of the building. At that moment, a secret service guy taps a South African policeman on the shoulder. The policeman was on the security detail too, and had his cameraphone out. He was snapping pictures.
"Um," said the secret service agent, "please don't take pictures of the principle when you're on the detail."
"Oh," said the policeman. "Okay."
I finally got the bathroom door open, shut it behind me and realized there was a little window that looked right at the black SUV that was going to whisk the first lady away momentarily. So I stood inside this little room while listening to the first lady speak with people about five feet away, wondering if it would be disrespectful to use the bathroom given the circumstances.
But I didn't wonder long.
A few minutes later, I came back out, and the motorcade was just pulling off. The police officer was still there, holding his phone up, snapping away.
My own pictures of the day, in a higher resolution than you can get on a cameraphone, are collected here.
I went to a few events she appeared at yesterday, and one of them dovetailed nicely with a story I had been meaning to do for awhile, so I finally managed to get something in the newspaper. It's very short, seeing as there were arrests in London yesterday, but if you want to look, be my guest.
The first lady's first stop was a visit to a maternity ward in the township of Khayelitsha, where a group called the Mothers Programmes operates. The secret service had come in force well in advance of her arrival, and required everyone to be there about two hours early, including all these HIV-positive moms who didn't have much of a clue as to who this Laura Bush woman was. Watching their amused expressions while a secret service agent ran a metal-detecting wand over them was priceless. The chest of one bosomy woman was setting off the wand, until she reached into her bra and took out her cell phone, whereupon it was everyone else's turn to laugh at the look on the secret service agent's face.
I should say that the secret service people were largely very good natured and the whole process of watching them secure the room was quite interesting.
The funniest moment of the day came at the end of her visit. The secret service whisked the first lady out the back entrance to the room where everyone was gathered, and I bolted out the front, with a pressing need to find the facilities. But I ended up in the same room as the first lady again, as the secret service appeared that they had only taken her out the back because it was part of some circuitous route that might have thrown someone off if they were looking to do her harm.
So there I was fumbling with the keys in the lock for the bathroom, when she comes blowing into the room again, saying hello to all the women at the front desk of the building. At that moment, a secret service guy taps a South African policeman on the shoulder. The policeman was on the security detail too, and had his cameraphone out. He was snapping pictures.
"Um," said the secret service agent, "please don't take pictures of the principle when you're on the detail."
"Oh," said the policeman. "Okay."
I finally got the bathroom door open, shut it behind me and realized there was a little window that looked right at the black SUV that was going to whisk the first lady away momentarily. So I stood inside this little room while listening to the first lady speak with people about five feet away, wondering if it would be disrespectful to use the bathroom given the circumstances.
But I didn't wonder long.
A few minutes later, I came back out, and the motorcade was just pulling off. The police officer was still there, holding his phone up, snapping away.
My own pictures of the day, in a higher resolution than you can get on a cameraphone, are collected here.
posted by Erik at 12:13 pm
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