Thanks Brian.  Enjoyed this very much... mostly.  But if you had a  
little more snow in your life you may not think so poorly of front  
facing garages.  I sure don't want to go back to shoveling the extra  
yardage it would take to bring the driveway around to the side or  
back.  It can be done well, but is usually done without thought...  
don't worry, those aren't well built and the snow/rain/rot/termites  
will crush them.

-jc

On Oct 20, 2006, at 10:54 PM, Brian Robinson wrote:

> Weds, October 18, 2006
>
>
> My date with Mrs. Bush
>
> Tonight I had my picture taken with the First Lady, Laura Bush. A  
> very surreal experience to be sure. There we about 200 or so of us  
> preservation types at an invitation only White House reception. It  
> was fun to watch the Secret Service guys do their surveillance  
> schtick. They had to get sore necks and tired eyeballs from their  
> constant scanning of the crowd. You could not use the potty after  
> the first lady entered the building. Maybe some type of restriction  
> on liquids... I don't really know.
>
> Anyway, my group had their turn with Mrs. Bush. John Nau, the  
> Chairman of the ACHP, and close personal friend of the first  
> family, ushered us into Mrs. Bush's presence. We quickly made our  
> introductions and had a quick photo taken. Total time, 2 minutes tops.
>
> My impressions...Mrs Bush is a very attractive lady, a bit shorter  
> than I would have imagined. She looked exactly like she looks on  
> TV. She had a very soft handshake. I introduced myself as Brian  
> Robinson from Savannah and she said that she was glad to meet me.  
> As I was leaving I thanked her for inviting us and she seemed  
> pleased. I have been to Madame Tussauds wax museum in London. My  
> experience was not that different from having my picture quickly  
> taken with the wax figures of Brad Pitt, Angie Jolie, and their new  
> child. In-out-done. It was nice of Mrs. Bush to take the time to  
> have her picture made with every one of us. She is quite the  
> trooper. She really looks like a school teacher and I would not  
> want to get on her bad side. I think she is a pretty tough woman  
> and I am sure that she know how to wield a paddle. I am sure that  
> she would never go on TV complaining about a vast left wing  
> conspiracy against her husband. First, she has too much class, and  
> second she has enough sense to know that the democrats (or  
> republicans for that matter) can't even organize a bake sale, let  
> alone an entire conspiracy dedicated to bringing down the Bush  
> Administration. Never explain, never apologize...that is the royal  
> motto.
>
> It was very exciting and I enjoyed feeling like a preservation big  
> shot for about two hours. Dick Moe and John Nau were in attendance  
> as were several other dignitaries that I did not know. I was  
> disappointed that she was not so smitten with me that she did not  
> invite me up to her suite to allow me an opportunity to present her  
> with my opinions on preservation, Iraq, etc. I had several witty  
> comments prepared for just such an occasion. I guess that she did  
> not want the other guests to feel less special. That is just the  
> type of thoughtful person she is. Several extreme left wing types  
> in our group pooh-poohed the entire experience but I did not see  
> any of them stepping out of line when it was their turn to have  
> their photo made. Cowards. If the first lady is on our side then I  
> say jump on that train and ride. Heck, it will all have to be  
> reassessed in 2 years anyway. Get it while the gettin' is good. I  
> guess I am a bit of a HP trollop/courtesan. I will try to do better  
> in coming days.
>
> Fri October 20
>
> I am currently strolling up and down Boubon Street looking at our  
> cultural heritage on the skids. It is like one big frat party going  
> on for about 3/8 mile. Larry Flint is well represented with three  
> venues; "adult novelties"( like there is anything "novel' under the  
> sun in that category) , regular "strippers" and "barely legal"  
> strippers. Lots of beer being sold on the street, but the cheap  
> crap always leaves me with a bad katzenjammer. I am going back to  
> stand by the evangelicals in the street and attempt to convert  
> folks to a less scantily clad method of using historic buildings. I  
> hope to lead any new converts on an immediate and bloody crusade to  
> rid the world
> of subdivisions with houses designed with 2000 sq ft.front facing  
> garages. Chatted up a beautician in a bar for about 2 hours and my  
> head hurts from the lack of intellectual stimulation. She said she  
> read Sci Fi but had never heard of Asimov, A.C. Clarke, Anderson,  
> or Vonnegut. Lord help me Jesus, the harvest is great but the  
> laborers so few.
>
> BSR
>
> --
> To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
> uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
> <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>

--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>