Breakfast at the White House

A few weeks ago, I was summoned to fly to Washington for a breakfast with… President Bush! To say that I was shocked would have been an understatement; I wouldn’t have expected it considering my total lack of affection and esteem for our country’s leader; at any rate, the way the notice was worded left me little choice, but get ready and travel to our capital on the day I had to. After spending the night at a boutique hotel in the outskirts of Washington, D.C., I was picked up at 7:30 am and driven to the White House. I had never been to the place and definitely felt underdressed, with just a blazer, a pair of khaki slacks and an open-collar blue shirt on. After first going through security, I was ushered into a small dining room where a breakfast table was set and George W. Bush looked at me and smiled nervously, sitting at the end of the table, along with two fellows that looked like secret service agents along with a young man and a young woman, both much better dressed than I was, with brand new suits, tie, and matching accessories. Sure, I had read the protocol briefing paperwork that came with the original notice and the extra one that was handed to me during the ride from the hotel, but I must confess that I was both impressed and confused and didn’t remember much what to do or say. I believe I muttered something like “good morning, Mr. President” and the man immediately tried to put me at ease by a “Welcome to Washington, Mr. Go Eleven!” and immediately proceeded to introduce the folks around the table. The two stern-looking men, were actually NSA agents; one was named Randy and the other Justin. The other two individuals were simply “guests” like me; one was Steve K. of Korean-American descent and the other was Ursula M. whose parents had emigrated from Germany just before she was born. Without waiting a minute Mr. Bush told us to look up the menu so we could get ready with our breakfast order and after some lame small talk, told the three of us, that through NSA’s active overseas phone surveillance, they had found that we were a bit too vocal in criticizing the current Administration, had to simply to let us know that we were grossly misinformed on the issues we talked about, and wanted us to somehow “change” our opinions and become more “open” in the ways we judged his government. He also went into the details of our – as he put it – “offensive positions” like the environment for Steve (painting him as an ‘eco-terrorist,') activist right-to-choose for Ursula and “Iraq peacenik” for Go 11. Notwithstanding that announcement, he suggested that we enjoyed our meal and asked us questions about our families, pets and favorite sports teams. When the breakfast was over, I was told that both Steve and Ursula would precede me in their one-on-one interviewed with the President. While it was Steve’s turn to go into the Oval Office, I chatted with Ursula as Justin, the NSA man who had stayed with us was silently but intensely listening in…
(To be continued…)