More Than Anyone Wanted To Know

Our day at the Clinton Library opening ceremony began with my wife and children waking up around 5 a.m. at a small hotel in White Hall (just north of Pine Bluff). There were no hotel rooms in Little Rock or North Little Rock to be found. To try to convey the frame of mind that we were in, let me just say that we were not at all sure that all four of us would be admitted. Through a convoluted series of foul-ups, I had requested four tickets back in August. When I hadn’t received any tickets a couple of weeks before the ceremony, I decided that I hadn’t made the cut. Then a friend of mine invited me to go with him – I accepted, but felt guilty that my wife and children couldn’t go. Then my wife called the Clinton Foundation to find out why we hadn’t received tickets and was told that our tickets had been mailed on October 25th, but there was some sort of screw up and that we could pick them up instead at a hotel in Little Rock. Fine. Two days before the ceremony, we received two tickets in the mail instead – this set off another discussion about who would get to go and who would have to NOT go. We settled on a decision that I would go and my nine year old son would go (because he had told his friends he was going and didn’t want to be called a liar). We were told that the other two tickets at the hotel would no longer be valid. Just for the hell of it, we had those picked up also by a friend and we decided we would chance it and try to get us all in.

We parked out at Barton Coliseum and rode a shuttle bus to the site, all of us clad in ponchos and each of us armed with a disposable camera. WE WERE SPECIFICALLY TOLD IN THE MAILING THAT UMBRELLAS WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED!!!!! We stood in a slow moving line headed toward the ticket scanner, and I continued to silently pray that we would all get in. My son Bailey and I were in line first – our tickets scanned and we were cleared to the next round – x-ray machines / metal detectors. Then came the test – would Carrie and Mackenzie get in? She scanned the first ticket and it didn’t clear – my heart sank. She scanned it again, and …..it cleared!!!! The next ticket cleared, also. This was a tribute to my wife, who never gave up, pestered the poor guy she dealt with incessantly, but got us all in (this led to the frequently repeated mantra for the day – "Mom’s the bomb!). The next wait – for the xray machines – took forever, but we were quite early and I rationalized that the longer we waited in line, the shorter the wait for the actual ceremony. This was important when dealing with fidgety children who didn’t quite grasp the importance of the event.

Finally, we got through the xray machine without incident. We located our seats and were disappointed to note that we wouldn’t be able to actually see the stage. I guess I hadn’t contributed enough money to get better seats, but, hey, at least I was among the lucky invitees (I’m slightly kidding – I contributed very little money, but I’ve worked for the Democratic Party in Arkansas for many years). We were also slightly dismayed to see that the "no umbrella" rule had not been strictly enforced. However, there were big Jumbotron tv screens everywhere, so keeping up with the action wouldn’t be a problem.

It was raining. It wasn’t really all that cold, but cold enough. There was about 45 minutes to pass before even the preliminary events started. Not too bad, but, again, I had children with me. SO, PAUL, WHY THE HELL DID YOU TAKE CHILDREN TO AN EVENT THAT YOU KNEW WOULD BORE THEM SILLY AND THAT THEY WOULDN’T APPRECIATE? Because you just don’t get the chance more than once, if at all, to be at an event with all the living former presidents of the U.S. (save one), plus the current U.S. President. Maybe down the road they will appreciate the significance of the event that they got to attend. Maybe.

Finally, a military band began to play patriotic songs, the Jumbotrons fired up, and the time started to pass a little more quickly. The cameramen were playing "Spot the Celebrity", so we would cheer when Robin Williams ( who was wearing a poncho – he didn’t need no stinkin’ umbrella) or Barbra Streisand, or Alfre Woodard, or Norman Lear were shown. By far the loudest cheer, though, was when John Kerry was shown. A brief chant of "Kerry! Kerry!" erupted. This caused me a little concern – this was, of course, a partisan crowd, and I did not want there to be any displays of disrespect for President Bush. I felt that this would reflect badly upon Arkansas – whether or not you respect and believe in the person, you should respect the office. I lectured my son more than once that he would absolutely not be allowed to boo anyone. To the credit of the crowd, the only scattered boos that I heard was during the introduction of my boss, Governor Huckabee.

The highlight of the pre-ceremony was Christian singer / trumpeter Phil Driscoll’s soulful version of "America The Beautiful." I remembered that he had opened the Emmy Awards in 2001 with this same song just a few weeks after 9/11; it was very moving then and it was very moving this time. An African Drum Ballet performed by schoolchildren from Hope, Arkansas, was also very good.

After the pre-ceremony, and a few minutes delay, the introduction of dignitaries began. The line-up was truly breathtaking. It occurred to me, several times in fact, that if a group of terrorists REALLY wanted to have an impact, then this would be the place to strike. There were ambassadors from all over the world. Caroline Kennedy was there. Members of Lyndon Johnson’s family. Al & Tipper Gore. John Glenn. Then the First Ladies – Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush, and Rosalynn Carter. Finally, President Bush, and former Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Carter.

At this point, my children had been very patient now for several hours and they decided that they had seen everything they came to see – they were supposed to see the President, and now they had done so. My five year old uttered a mournful, "I want to go home." We were all wet. Ponchos will only do so much. I was starting to feel torn between being a good father and getting my kids in out of the rain and sticking around to witness the speeches of all of the presidents. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the announcement that six people were about to give speeches about the impact that President Clinton’s administration had on them personally. While these speeches were often touching and heartwarming, this was a wet and impatient crowd. During these six speeches, I noticed that many people started to leave. I couldn’t blame many of them. There were a lot of elderly people in the crowd and many of them had come totally unprepared for the rain, even though rain had been forecast for several days. I was concerned for many of them, but particularly for a gentleman that appeared to be around 80 years old. He was dressed in his Sunday best, appeared to be alone, and had no overcoat, umbrella, hat or anything to protect him. He kept walking up and down the aisle. I truly considered offering him my poncho, but my daughter was huddled underneath it.

My wife, already the hero of the day, understood that I was experiencing a dilemma and she knew that I was about to say that we should leave. She also knew that I would regret it later. Bless her, she decided to take the children, catch the bus, go back to the fairgrounds, and wait on me to come later. I went along with that plan (yeah, I know; I really owe her one).

By this time, our long row of seats, completely filled at the beginning, was down to about six people. President Carter’s speech was very good; he made it clear that he understood that then-Governor Clinton’s failure to win a second term was largely due to the Fort Chaffee incident and that he was largely to blame; he apologized. President Bush Senior was very good, also – he had very kind words for the man who kicked his ass in 1992. I even enjoyed President Bush’s speech – I thought it was particularly funny at the beginning when he said something along the lines of, " My fellow Americans…President & Mrs. Clinton…President & Mrs. Carter….President Bush….Governor Huckabee….Mom…."

Now it is time to disclose how superficial I am and how pop culture overcomes even my sense of history….next up was the TRUE reason I wanted to stay , despite the weather. For now it was time for Bono & The Edge. And they didn’t disappoint. First, they did an off-the-cuff version of the Beatles’ "Rain", which was appropriate, of course. Next was an acoustic version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" – the lady beside me and I sang every word . Finally, the Edge switched to piano and they performed "The Hands That Built America" from the "Gangs of New York" soundtrack. Toward the end of the song, I started heading toward the exits.

So, Paul, you went through all of this only to leave without hearing the person speak for whom the library was named? Yeah. I’ve heard President Clinton speak several times; Hillary, too. This is a man who used to come to the Armadillo Festival. This is a man whom I used to see many, many times jogging in downtown Little Rock when I would be walking from a restaurant or parking lot to a law school class. I went to this man’s inauguration in 1993 in Washington D.C. where I experienced a feeling of hope for American that I hadn’t felt since….well, ever. That feeling lasted for about 100 days, or until the health care reform bill was shot down. This is a man whom, I’m convinced, still has a great deal that he can, and will, accomplish. Bottom line…..there will be other opportunities, I’m sure, to listen to and perhaps even visit with, President Clinton. Hillary, too.

I had no trouble catching a shuttle bus and getting back to the fairgrounds – my timing was perfect. When I arrived back at the fairgrounds, I saw my wife and two children just a few yards ahead of me. They had not had such an easy time getting back, and I felt badly. I can’t say enough about my wife’s efforts in making all of this happen – she knew how important this was to me. It is poetic justice, I guess, that the only person who got sick from exposure to the elements was me.

I caught what I missed on C-Span over the weekend; I missed a very powerful version of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Mickey Mangun and I missed a very political benediction by Dr. Tony Campolo. I hope President Bush was listening closely.

Now I can’t wait to actually visit the library. Without the kids.