Growing up with a White House Level Father
I was 17 when I realized that I actually was leading a pretty privileged lifestyle considering we did not have much money, because when you have a Father that works at the White House level for 25+ years the access and network is like no other. The power that is wielded at that level is incredibly intimidating, but my Father knew how to leverage it to his advantage for the family. We were always going places that were strictly reserved for Government VIP's and the treatment was awesome...
The Spring break had ended and my assignment about what I did was due when I arrived back at school. The car pool let me off and my first class was English and I turned in my essay titled "My Northern Exposure"...Dad helped me with the title. That evening the phone rang and it was my teacher Ms. Anne. My Mom's ear was pressed against the phone and I watched her expression change as the voice rambled on until she went from puzzled to understanding what was being said to a big long smile and she said...hold on let me get my husband. Dad picks up the phone and goes through the same expression count with the exception of the last one which was one of power and slight arrogance. "Honey...where are you from?" She replied Alabama and my Father asked her if you ever took a look at her class list compared with the senior leadership of federal government...there was a pause and then my Father answered yes what I wrote was real.
The one perk we had was tagging along with Dad on some business related trips and it so happens I had to write about one of them for a class assignment and that is when I realized things were a bit different. NATO was in full motion during the 1970's and the Cold War was hot so when Dad had to go to a NATO Conference Norway was our destination and with the Secretary of Defense on Board we got the royal military treatment from Air Force 2 to motorcades and staying at the American Embassy. All the kids were between 8 to 17 and there were about 15 kids on the trip me being one of them. I learned how to evade a Secret Service Details, almost get shot by friendly fire and experience the trip from the cockpit of Air Force 2...the same plane JFK flew to that fateful day in Dallas.
After my teacher read my account of what happened over the last week she called the house to let my parents know that the essay had to be fictional...and that is when she finally graduated from transplanted teacher from Alabama to seasoned veteran teacher living in the most powerful city in the world. She was changed especially when I came back the next day. She treated all the kids a bit differently after she researched most of the parents...quite funny, but very true.
Losing a Secret Service Detail is not hard especially when you are on a big PT Boat riding up a Fiorde in Norway. It was misty and in the 40's so we were all on deck looking at the beautiful vertical green walls of the canyons surrounding us while we motored through the crisp clean water. The boat was a Norwegian Military Vessel and we were running through the ship weaving in and out of men wearing sailor outfits while a plain clothed guy with a really wrinkled Columbo overcoat moved quickly behind us while trying to be discreet...we lost him until we voluntarily emerged from the sea of people on deck and he looked relieved.
The Penny incident really changed the trip, but none the less made things a bit dicey for Dad and the Secretary. Our second day was spent in a large 18 story dormitory in Bergen. My friend Tommy and I were a bot bored and really enjoyed pushing the envelope of our youth on those who were not familiar with our type of mischief. Never drop 100 pennies down a stairway shaft being guarded by NATO soldiers with machine guns. Tommy and I got the wrath of hell, but we ended up behaving the rest of the trip.
The memory that I cherish the most was flight time in Air Force Two. At the time I had no idea what this plane was all about and just relished in the idea that you could order anything we wanted to eat or drink while aboard the aircraft. To me that was cool, but not understanding what this planes place in history was I would have paid more attention to detail. This plane was deemed Air Force Two because of the rank of the Senior Executive aboard. Air Force One is reserved for President only and any aircraft he boards maintains the "call sign" Air Force One. This Boeing 707 was the actual plane that JFK took to Dallas on that fateful day in 1963. I learned this long after the actual trip and it now has become a bit creepy to think about.
This is just one of the various memories I have growing up in Bethesda. More to come...
The Spring break had ended and my assignment about what I did was due when I arrived back at school. The car pool let me off and my first class was English and I turned in my essay titled "My Northern Exposure"...Dad helped me with the title. That evening the phone rang and it was my teacher Ms. Anne. My Mom's ear was pressed against the phone and I watched her expression change as the voice rambled on until she went from puzzled to understanding what was being said to a big long smile and she said...hold on let me get my husband. Dad picks up the phone and goes through the same expression count with the exception of the last one which was one of power and slight arrogance. "Honey...where are you from?" She replied Alabama and my Father asked her if you ever took a look at her class list compared with the senior leadership of federal government...there was a pause and then my Father answered yes what I wrote was real.
The one perk we had was tagging along with Dad on some business related trips and it so happens I had to write about one of them for a class assignment and that is when I realized things were a bit different. NATO was in full motion during the 1970's and the Cold War was hot so when Dad had to go to a NATO Conference Norway was our destination and with the Secretary of Defense on Board we got the royal military treatment from Air Force 2 to motorcades and staying at the American Embassy. All the kids were between 8 to 17 and there were about 15 kids on the trip me being one of them. I learned how to evade a Secret Service Details, almost get shot by friendly fire and experience the trip from the cockpit of Air Force 2...the same plane JFK flew to that fateful day in Dallas.
After my teacher read my account of what happened over the last week she called the house to let my parents know that the essay had to be fictional...and that is when she finally graduated from transplanted teacher from Alabama to seasoned veteran teacher living in the most powerful city in the world. She was changed especially when I came back the next day. She treated all the kids a bit differently after she researched most of the parents...quite funny, but very true.
Losing a Secret Service Detail is not hard especially when you are on a big PT Boat riding up a Fiorde in Norway. It was misty and in the 40's so we were all on deck looking at the beautiful vertical green walls of the canyons surrounding us while we motored through the crisp clean water. The boat was a Norwegian Military Vessel and we were running through the ship weaving in and out of men wearing sailor outfits while a plain clothed guy with a really wrinkled Columbo overcoat moved quickly behind us while trying to be discreet...we lost him until we voluntarily emerged from the sea of people on deck and he looked relieved.
The Penny incident really changed the trip, but none the less made things a bit dicey for Dad and the Secretary. Our second day was spent in a large 18 story dormitory in Bergen. My friend Tommy and I were a bot bored and really enjoyed pushing the envelope of our youth on those who were not familiar with our type of mischief. Never drop 100 pennies down a stairway shaft being guarded by NATO soldiers with machine guns. Tommy and I got the wrath of hell, but we ended up behaving the rest of the trip.
The memory that I cherish the most was flight time in Air Force Two. At the time I had no idea what this plane was all about and just relished in the idea that you could order anything we wanted to eat or drink while aboard the aircraft. To me that was cool, but not understanding what this planes place in history was I would have paid more attention to detail. This plane was deemed Air Force Two because of the rank of the Senior Executive aboard. Air Force One is reserved for President only and any aircraft he boards maintains the "call sign" Air Force One. This Boeing 707 was the actual plane that JFK took to Dallas on that fateful day in 1963. I learned this long after the actual trip and it now has become a bit creepy to think about.
This is just one of the various memories I have growing up in Bethesda. More to come...
posted by Unknown at 10:09 AM
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