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Bil.’s favorites ... Quote: Perspective: Software: Technology Web sites: Sports: Movies: Books: Games: Music: Health & Fitness: Food: Pets: Hobbies: Places / Experiences: Vacation: Automobiles: |
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It was definitely overwhelming thinking that within hours on that day I would be making a presentation to the President of the United States! There were scattered clouds in the sky and the temperature would reach 79 degrees. My mouth was dry and it would remain that way throughout the day (no matter how much water I drank). I felt anxious and kept trying to catch my breath, letting out several long sighs. My wife, Diana, kept telling me I would do just fine. I knew I would be okay, but, heck, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! There is just no way to describe the impact of the anticipation (especially after 19 months of so much work and so many obstacles that had led up to this day). This all came about because of my Executive Director role with the Santa Barbara Board of Realtors. I had originally come up with the idea of making a presentation to the President on behalf of private property rights over a year and half earlier. No one thought it would ever happen when I first "floated" the idea of making a presentation to the President of the United States. When I first talked about making a presentation to the President, there were those who just laughed. No one was laughing this day that I would have my picture taken shaking hands with the President - a picture that would go out over the wire services and be quite helpful promoting private property rights ... which was the whole point of my idea to begin with. There were more than 50 obstacles to overcome in “getting to the President.” I worked closely with Michael K. Deaver, Ed Rollins, and several other Reagan staffers over the course of 19 months. I worked my way through the maze of approvals and “considerations” (with LOTS and LOTS of frustration, dead ends, and disappointments mixed in along the way). There were many points where I just didn’t think it would ever happen, but I just kept working at it, step by step. I thought often about that old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!” As I kept going back to my board of director at the Santa Barbara Board of Realtors for “spending money” each step of the way (just to do the plaque, including framing it with a touch of class, cost over $7,000), there never were any guarantees that I would actually pull it off. Of course, people knew I had a reputation for making great things happen ... so I just stayed focused and kept a positive attitude. That’s not to say I didn’t get discouraged at many points with far too many roadblocks (at the local, state, and national levels), but I always somehow found a way to “jump start” things or, well, quite literally invent "alternate paths" to reaching each “next step.” Then it was “all set” ... I would make the presentation out at the President’s ranch. Two days before that was supposed to happen, the Secret Service contacted me and said there was a “change of plans.” They couldn’t tell me where I would meet the President “for security reasons.” I had already submitted the plaque to the Secret Service weeks earlier, because they had to send it somewhere to be checked for explosives. They said it would be transported to where the presentation would be made. It was all very “cloak and dagger” and quite over dramatic at several points. In the back of my mind (mainly because I always seem to look for things to worry about) I wondered how they would ever get the plaque to the right location at the right time for the presentation. Those thoughts, when I couldn’t shut them out of my mind, led to many deep sighs of frustration. The night before the presentation I got a call at midnight from the Secret Service. We were on the phone “back and forth” for a couple of hours. At this point I knew most of the agents by name who were assigned to the President. The reason for the phone calls was to go over the details of what to do once I was with the President. I was NOT to put my hands in my pockets. Nor could I make any sudden moves. Okay, so after phone calls and instructions like that, plus wondering if the plaque really would show up at the appointed time and place, well, there was just no way I could sleep! I was also informed that I would get 90 seconds with the President and First Lady. And, that would be all - NINETY SECONDS! The presentation took place in an area of Santa Barbara called “Hope Ranch.” It was basically where the “rich folks” lived, right on the water’s edge to the north west of Santa Barbara. The Klinger Mansion was a 56 room estate and the occasion was a fund raiser that was being held there that day. I was told where to be and exactly what time - the living room at precisely 1:30 p.m. I arrived around 11:00 a.m. at the event with Zena Drewisch, the President of the Santa Barbara Board of Realtors. We figured we would have lunch and then, well, you know, have a chat with the President of the United States. Actually, we were pretty casual about the whole thing. And, since I hadn’t been able to eat breakfast, I figured I could have a dandy, not to mention extravagant lunch experience. There was this spread of food like the last days of the Romans ... everything from Lobster hors d’oeuvres to Alaskan King Crab “finger food.” Zena and I grabbed plates and were about to “chow down” when it hit me like a bolt of lightning! I felt sick. I felt scared. I was nauseous. My mouth got even dryer. It was like my mouth was filled with cotton! One single thought echoed in my mind, “Holy crap, I’m going to meet the President of the United States!” I couldn’t even begin to think about eating. Neither could Zena. So we left all of that food and sipped on bottled water. And then, in a blur, we were standing in a room waiting to meet the President and First Lady. We heard the helicopters arrive as we were being scanned by the Secret Service agents (for the fifth time that day!). There were always three to five helicopters when the President flew anywhere in Santa Barbara. We lived along the foothills and always waved as they flew over our house. You never knew which helicopter the President would be in. Several times, as our son, Ian, would be waving from our deck, you could actually see the President and First Lady waving. Now I was just minutes away from being with both of them in person! Then another bolt of lightning hit me! NO PLAQUE! I hadn’t seen the plaque at all. What would I do if there was no plaque? Describe it to the President? Before I could worry too much about that, one of the Secret Service agents came in and said, “Okay. You ready to meet the President?” Zena froze. She couldn’t move. As I looked at her, she meekly said, “I can’t do this!” The look on her face was pure panic. I walked over to her and said, as calmly and firmly as I possibly could, “You ARE going to do this!” I gave her a nudge and we were on our way. As we walked down a long hallway, another Secret Service agent came up to me and slipped the plaque under my arm ... all without me missing a beat or a step ... like this carefully orchestrated “movement” had been done many times before. This was just as I saw the President and Nancy Reagan standing there ... waiting for us. Waiting for us! The President of the United States was just standing there, waiting! It was 1:32 p.m. I can’t count how many times people have asked me, “What’s it like to meet the President of the United States?” My only response is, “WOWSERS!” No other time in my life do I recall feeling my heart pound - like it was going to explode right out of my chest and any moment! The one thing that stands out in my mind the most about President Reagan is that once we walked up to him and started talking, he made you feel like he had known you all your life. He looked at the Chain of Title for his property and was impressed that I had even included the brand for his ranch - the double arrow <-> ... he also liked the fact that we had put his favorite horse as well as horse and buggy on the plaque. I had done my homework for everything that was included on the plaque ... and, here was the President of the United States acknowledging the great job I had done. Nancy was impressed, too. It was all of nine minutes I spent with the President that day. Zena never said a word. She just kept smiling. Later she would confess that she absolutely just couldn’t speak. Secret Service Agents came up to the President several times (they acted very fidgety, indeed), whispering to him ... loudly enough so I could hear them (yea, like I could do something about “speeding up” the President!). The President just “waved them away” each time an agent whispered to him, as he continued talking with me. Then, finally, one of the Secret Service agents (the one who seemed to be in charge and the one who had given me the plaque as I walked in) said, “Mister President, you need to greet the other guests now.” Okay, so the “good news” was I had my picture taken with the President of the United States. The “bad news” was I had to wait over three months to get the actual photo. When the package from the White House staff photographer arrived in late November, it was definitely worth the wait. The photos came with the letter that was personally signed by the President Reagan! He and Nancy also personally signed one of the photos for me. I was later told by one of the White House staffers that those signatures were their actual signatures (not done by the special machines they have to keep the the President from getting writer’s cramp). One other point needs to be mentioned here. The whole point of making this presentation to the President was to promote private property rights. This was at a time in California when rent control was being “pushed” in Santa Monica and other areas in southern California. We got “a lot of mileage” from this presentation and it helped fight rent control on several fronts. When I got home, Diana and our son, Ian, were standing by the door waiting for me. Diana asked a one word question, “Well?”
This would be a day ... a moment in time and mind I would never, ever forget.
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I just summed it all up with a simple statement, “I met the President of the United States of America!” To this very day, I still get goose bumps when I think about it!