Confessions of a Bellman - Well Hello Mr. President

hotel employee Ruben Padron with President Clinton

Last year former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea came to Las Vegas and visited our employee dining room at the hotel. Their mission was to drum-up union support for Hillary. Of course the day they made their visit was also my day off work and I missed all the hoopla.

All that changed today when the former President made another visit. I'm not sure what the occasion was, perhaps a keynote speech for a convention or maybe he wanted to play a round of golf with his friends The Greenspuns, but you could feel the excitement in the air... that is if you knew he was coming.

Myself and another bellman, Jack, got the call to be Clinton's bellmen. We waited, along with security and top casino executives, at the lesser crowded side-entrance of the hotel. After thirty minutes someone's cell phone rang with the news that the entourage was delayed an hour. I went to the cafeteria and ate a turkey sandwich.

An hour later Jack and I again posted up at the side door, this time with two Secret Service agents. It was chilly and windy outside and the execs waited in the foyer of the hotel. Within minutes, five SUVs pulled up, the third carrying Clinton and his luggage. There was a flurry of action in a very short amount of time. Another eight Secret Service agents emerged from the SUVs. One of the agents, the one standing between Ruben and Clinton in the above photo, was in charge of the luggage. Jack and I helped him empty the baggage from the rear of the car. As I pulled some bags off the top of the pile, I found myself staring at the back of Bill Clinton's head -he was still sitting in the back seat. I almost said, "And a good day to you SIR!" (quoting John Goodman's character in The Big Lebowski, when he meets the guy in the iron-lung) but I refrained.

Jack, myself and Mr. Secret Agent Man rolled our carts through the foyer as the former President stopped to meet the hotel executives. We arrived at the suite and were greeted by another agent. I know this because they wear a lapel pin with a special symbol on it -usually a star -but they apparently change the specially-coded pin every hour.

The agent gave Jack and I a worthy tip and as we turned to leave, there was the 42nd President walking down the hall towards us, surrounded by his people. Jack and I pushed our carts aside and stood against the wall.

Clinton stopped in front of Jack and shook his hand as he said hello. He then walked past the luggage cart and stopped in front of me. He said hello and shook my hand.

I replied with "Happy Presidents' Day, Mr. President."

He simply said "Thanks."

Meeting a former President on Presidents' Day. I don't think it can get any cooler than that.

FiN.

The Cavanaughs - Part III - Valentines Day

Note: This is the third post in an ongoing fictional series about the holidays and The Cavanaugh Family.

When I was fifteen years old, back in 1903, my heart was aching for a girl named Geraldine. Her parents owned the mercantile in town and I first laid eyes on her when she delivered some goods to our cabin. You see, after Ma had died of the fever, the town folk took it upon themselves to donate clothing and linen to our family and Geraldine was one of the few who did the delivering. She was a sweet thing to be sure. Her locks were strawberry blond and her face was speckled with freckles. What got me the most—and still does to this day—were her eyes. They were of a kind, gentle nature, as down-to-earth and brown as the fertile Michigan soil. I was sure she must have been a bunny rabbit in her life previous.

Geraldine knew I liked her and I hoped she liked me too. When Valentine's Day came around I knew I had to do something special... but had no idea what. I had no money and really, no special talents. I remember wishing Ma was still alive to help me with my dilemma as she would have known what to do alright.

The day before the holiday Pa and I were chopping wood behind the cabin. I asked Pa how he and Ma had come to meet.

"I was your age and growing up in Keogh," Pa said. "Your Ma's family lived at the next farm over."

"And you took a like'n to her and courted her?"

"And then we married," Pa said with a nod.

"But did you do something to win her heart?" I asked, "Ya know, something romantic and all?"

Pa stopped chopping and tilted his head in thought.

"I don't reckon I did. It just came natural, like we was meant to be."

I shook my head in dismay. It wasn't the answer I was hoping to hear.

"I wish things were that easy for Geraldine and me." I said.

"Listen boy, love is a many splintered thing." Pa's voice was almost profound. "Your gal ain't from a family like ours. She's got all those comforts and she's got a family with money. Now that doesn't mean she's not a good person, far be it. Her folks seem like good people. You just need to do something from your heart and hope she takes it with a lovin' smile. If she does, you'll know it for sure. If not, well, she ain't worth the time it takes to pass the day."

Not only was Pa's lament the most I ever heard him talk at one time, it was also some of the best advice he had ever given me—besides not standing-up in a canoe.

That night Ma came to me in a dream. She had her hands cupped to her chest and was smiling at me like the angel I knew she had become.

"The key to love is not in money or beauty," She said, "The key to love is in the morning dew and the afternoon sun."

And then she was gone.

When I awoke I could tell I had been crying in my sleep. I was sad Ma had left so quickly but at the same time I was excited because I knew exactly what I needed to do. I pulled open my top dresser drawer and rummaged through the items. I pulled out an old skeleton key I had found while walking to school back in the fall. I cleaned and polished it the best I could and slid it over a leather shoe lace.

"Gonna eat some breakfast?" Pa asked while flipping some bacon strips.

"Not today Pa, I'm running late for school. I can't miss Geraldine on the way," I answered.

"So what you going to do about her?"

"I got it all figured up," I said heading for the door. As it was closing, I turned and gave Pa, for the first time ever, a sly wink. It was the same kind of wink he was so prone of doing over the years and I think it amused him.

I caught up with Geraldine about a mile from school. I relieved her from carrying her books and beamed a smile at her.

"I got ya something for Valentine's Day Geraldine."

"No you didn't." She said coyly.

I pulled the shoe lace and key from my pocket and gave it to her.

"And just what is this?" She wondered aloud, "A rusty old key on a strap of hide?"

"It's not just a rusty old key," I answered, "It's the key to my heart."

Geraldine stopped walking in mid-step.

"Is it now?" she said with a curious smile.

"And it's all yours," I said proudly.

She put the necklace over her head and tucked the key under her blouse.

"Well looky there," she said with that lovin' smile Pa had told me about, "it just happens to keep itself right next to my heart."

With our hands clasped and swinging with joy, we continued our walk to school.

Later that day, during recess, Geraldine and I sat outside the schoolhouse on a patch of lazy grass. We watched the younger ones jump rope and play hop-scotch. We laughed as we watched and laughed even more when one of us caught the other stealing a glance. It was a beautiful day for a February in northern Michigan. If there was a chill in the air, I didn't notice, for all I could feel was the dreamy warmth of that afternoon sun, that warmth Ma had told me about in my dream.

FiN.