Guess Who's Keeping Us From Dinner? The President Obama in Cleveland Edition

Today as we started backing our van out of its parking space at church we realized that there was a long line of cars behind us also waiting to get out. This is unusual. Since we don't get out of church until 3:30, then add another half hour on top of that for finding children and each other, we are all pretty hungry and everyone wants to get home. We are typically a fast moving group of people as a whole, so lines to get out of the parking lot aren't a problem we see most Sundays.

Then we noticed that there was a car parked specifically to block everyone's exit out of the lot. There was a woman standing next to the car and looking down the road. So of course everyone got out of their cars to ask her why she was keeping a few hundred people from their dinners.

Her answer: President Obama is coming and we need to keep the road clear for his motorcade.

Oh. Is that all?

So I made the kids get out of the car so they could see a presidential motorcade. Looks pretty much like it does in the movies or on tv. Lots of cop cars. Lots of black SUVs with their windows rolled down so you can see the Secret Service men with their big guns daring you to throw a Book of Mormon at them.

When it was over, one of our home teachers, a very tall black man named Leonard, came over to me and told me they were driving so fast he wasn't even able to pick out which big black car Obama was in (they were going well over the speed limit). Then he said, "Oh well. It's not like he's someone important." And he was serious. That made me smile. I like Leonard. It isn't often you meet a black person in Cleveland who doesn't think the sun and moon don't rise and set for Obama. I could write a mini post on Leonard and how cool he is, but I won't do it here.

When it was over Jeremy looked at me and said, "I thought you didn't like Obama."

So of course I had to explain to him that even though I can't particularly stand this president, he is still the president and it was cool to watch the motorcade, even if it was him in it instead of someone I would have preferred to be running our country.

So there you go. President Obama was in Cleveland, Ohio today. Driving down Cedar Rd. Past the LDS chapel. And kept us from getting home on time.

Love List #10 Life in Ohio-Oh! Surprise! There's Something Positive About Life in Ohio!

I thought since I've been so down on Ohio lately, specifically Cleveland, that I ought to say some positives about life here that I do love.

1. People in our ward and at the dental school are so friendly. I feel like I've made friends more quickly here than I ever have anywhere else. I don't make friends quickly or easily, so I appreciate those here who have invited me to outings or our family over for dinner, games, etc.

This is me with a group of friends going to see Twilight. I'm in the back wearing the glasses. For some reason that was the week my contacts stopped working and I actually had to wear my glasses in public.

2. The big fancy houses here are so fun to look at. Lots of the houses here in the nice neighborhoods are tudor style and remind me of Jane Austin novels.


3. Ummmmmmmmmm. We're closer to New York? That's something I really like about Ohio. It's close to New York. Although I don't think I can say that's something I really love about Ohio because there are other places that are close to New York where I'd rather be. But I'd feel bad if I could only think of two things for this list. So sure. I'll keep it.