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.
2 comments:
I was surprised at how fast they went. I guess when they're not trying to make a spectacle, there's no reason to take it easy.
My favorite part was the Marines, in dress blues, on motorcycles.
The whole time that we were waiting I was thinking, "if my house burns down because I can't get my dinner out of the oven, can I send the bill to the President?"
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