On our flight to California, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife sat right behind us
Michael wasn’t that impressed
I was
I thought about all the power and prestige he has known
There is no bigger office in the world
The secret service were all around us
Protecting
There is no bigger target than an American president
By the bad guys and by we the people
We love to build them up and then tear them down
The weight and heft of that job is unmeasurable
The burden
Immense
I shook his hand
It’s smooth with age and the millions of handshakes that came before
I told the guy next to me, that boarded after the president was seated to watch the faces of others boarding
The spark of recognition was fun to see
Three and a half hours later, he leans over and said,” I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier and I have to ask you. If you thought it was fun to see people recognize him, then who are you?”
There was a pregnant pause before I said
” I’m not famous if that’s what your asking. I just like people watching.”
He said,” I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out who you were. I figured you were even more famous then the former president and thought it was fun to watch people not recognize you for a change!”
So, for all that power and prestige
I was more popular for over three hours
Priceless