MY BUCKET LIST # 2

• before he became president, I met Bill.Clinton at the Radisson Hotel in Denver. Gregarious. I worked on the sales staff there. On of my colleagues had a blue water pistol and told the Secret Service he wanted to speak to Clinton in the kitchen. He was " detained " while he ran through his stockpile of Clinton Jokes
• Al Gore showed up later and I got to press the flesh with him, same hotel. He warms up to the ladies in the reception line. Sprinklers went off during the night and they had to get him out of thee.
• Rev Ben Weir, Lebanese hostage came to town and I met him at a speech he gave. I asked him if he genuinely forgave his captors. " yes I believe I have."
• G. Gordon Liddy was standing next to me at a lecture at the University of Arizona when a wild eyed kid said, " aren't you afraid someone might stab you?" George replied, poking his pen right n the kid's face: " no, he's in far more danger han I am. Id jam this pen up his nose into his brain and cripple him for life."  The kid left abruptly.
• My job at National Airlines in the 60's was to get the guests for Mike Douglas TV show from the airport to their hotel, then to the studio, and introduce them to the producer. Commander Lloyd Bucker of the USS Pueblo was late getting up, so I rousted outta bed at his hotel  into my car and the 4 block drive to NBC studios in Philadelphia. We just made the deadline. I got to Tell him how proud I was of him and his crew.
• The traditional Army Navy game at Municipal Stadium in south Philadelphia had the usual crowds. I was there selling Bulletin newspapers. President Harry Truman rolled in, halted the car, window down and hollered, " C'mere kid. I'd like one of your papers." Damn, no photographer to capture the moments.
• More later

Watergate - NIXON, LIDDY, COX, ETC

On another of my blogs I wrote about my meeting with Archibald Cox, some years back, and how much I liked the old, deaf man. We talked about his experiences with Nixon, Watergate, getting fired and so on. One comment was left on the blog which was anonymous which almost always means it was nasty.
     It got me to thinking....how many of the Watergate people I actually got to meet, by accident, by chance, by luck. I am a nobody. An ordinary citizen with a sense of curiosity and drive, above average in only some slight areas. Just lucky, I guess. But I have, on reflection, run into a wide variety of characters involved in that national fiasco.

•      Richard Nixon & Pat - met him in West Philadelphia, pleasant, smiley
•      Richard Kleindeinst - met him in Tucson, he escaped there to retire, nervous, ticky
•      G. Gordon Liddy - met in Tucson, small, compact, fearless, loved him
•      Archibald Cox - met in Tucson, huge, Lincolnesque, deaf, jovial
•      Gerald Ford - President met in Tucson, clumsy.