Web posted Sunday, October 14, 2007
Mrs. Smith goes to Washington
Lucy Adams
Columnist
No doubt, the gentleman wondered what Mrs.
Smith was doing in the private, men's lavatory in the White
House China Room. No doubt, her unexpected intrusion made
him very, very uncomfortable. No doubt, he suspected espionage,
terrorism, or, worse, that she wanted to use the stall he
currently occupied.
Mrs. Smith had good reason for being there
- her daughter, Julia, made a wish. Julia has a rare and life-threatening
blood disorder known as Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia. The Make-A-Wish
Foundation contacted Julia's mother about granting Julia her
heart's desire.
Mrs. Smith balked. First, she has not, does
not, will not ever label Julia's illness terminal. In fact,
she is certain a cure is imminent, and she, her own determined
self, started the Glanzmann's Research Foundation to raise
money to fund Dr. David Wilcox, a scientist seeking the cure.
Secondly, she didn't want to suffer Disney
World, a common craving among Make-A-Wish kids. Like me, Mrs.
Smith would rather eat a container of crickets than spend
10 minutes in Mickey Mouse's mayhem.
Julia surprised her mother. She requested
to meet the president. She had some burning questions for
him, such as Can you make yourself a sandwich in the middle
of the night, or does someone else make it?, and Do Barney
and Miss Beazley sleep in the bed with you and Mrs. Bush?,
and Do you get to preview movies before anyone else?
Thus, the Make-A-Wish foundation arranged
a Sept. 19 VIP visit with the leader of the free world.
That's how Mrs. Smith's family ended up in
the White House Diplomatic Room with a butler serving them
water from a silver tray. That's how Mrs. Smith nervously
sipped several glasses, while awaiting the president's arrival.
That's why their liaison conducted Mrs. Smith to the China
Room gentlemen's facilities.
Mrs. Smith primped in the mirror (no self-respecting
Southern woman would dare meet the president without her face
on straight) thinking how odd that a place so grand and beautiful
would have stinky old plumbing.
As she turned to push the stall open, and
it didn't budge, she realized the nature of the situation.
Accidentally, she spied, through the crack in the door, a
man in the sitting position staring back at her. He never
said a word in response to Mrs. Smith's profuse apologies
she heaped upon him while skirting out to safety in the Diplomatic
Room.
At long last, in walked President George W.
Bush. He rubbed his hands together in excitement and hop-stepped
straight to Julia. "I've been looking forward to meeting
you," he warmly said, accompanying that with greetings
for each of her family members. Mrs. Smith received a kiss
on the cheek.
Mr. President, after turning and accepting
an item from his personal aid, presented Julia with a handsome,
silver bookmark engraved with the presidential seal. Unfortunately,
Mrs. Smith had difficulty focusing on the exchange, because
she felt strangely familiar with the president's assistant
and got distracted trying to place his face...
...which took her right back to the China
Room latrine. The president's personal aid is a boxer man!
No doubt he couldn't believe his bum luck.
No doubt, he wished Mrs. Smith had been a threat to national
security. No doubt, when recognition flitted between them,
he wished he were lying in state in the rotunda.
For you inquisitive ones, yes, the president
can make his own sandwich for a midnight nibble. Yes, Barney
and Miss Beazley sleep in the bed with them, but also have
their own west wing room. And yes, he gets to preview movies
while snacking on his favorite - popcorn.
Lucy Adams is a Columbia County native
and McDuffie County resident. Send comments to lucybgoosey
at aol.com. To find out more about the Glanzmann's Research
Foundation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit www.glanzmanns.com
and www.wish.org.
