Downtown Junkie

What a day Tuesday was as most of Midland and the surrounding areas gathered in Centennial Plaza to welcome home our very own President George W. Bush and Laura Bush.  While the day was long and included a lot of standing, all was forgotten as the anticipation of watching the President’s airplane fly over downtown happened.  When he finally arrived, the crowd listened intently with smiles beaming on their faces.  It was such a proud moment for Midland!

As for me, the day started early.  I volunteered for the event and arrived out there at 11:30.  Already lines had formed.  When I asked the ladies who were at the front of the line what time they arrived, they said 8:30.  Wow!  Considering there was no seating once you got in, and there was no seating in line, that was a long time to be on your feet!  But they didn’t regret a second.  The chance of standing in the front and obtaining the coveted positions were enough reward for them.

All volunteers were assigned their tasks by a very spunky assistant to Mr. Bush named Lindsey.  I think I heard a reporter say her last name was Keller, but I’m not sure.  She was definitely a little ball of fire though and handled the hundreds of volunteers, press, and security with total control.  Our task was to direct the blue and red tickets to their respective “chutes.”  In addition, we handed out red, white, and blue “W”s and Texas flags to each person entering.  Later in the day when my daughter arrived, she helped hand out flags.  It definitely kept us occupied and we had a lot of fun.

We have a link on the home page that shows the Bush event if you were unable to attend.  As for those of who did, I think everyone would admit it was worth every minute and all the time standing!