Gert & Wes, the Big Dog, Little Rock and the library....what a weekend!

(crossposted from the Clark group)

Last Saturday morning at 10am my guy and I pulled out of the driveway headed to Little Rock around 10am. For six hours the man I love drove us through nightmarish torrential downpours just so we could be on time for the "Red Jacket Ball". Gert Clark was this years honoree and Bill Clinton was the guest speaker.

We arrived shortly after 6pm, among the first 50/75 people to arrive (it eventually swelled to about 450/500). After getting a beer, we met a very passionate young lady from Maine who told us exactly what the "Red Jackets" were. They are a branch of Clinton's Americorps program who work with literacy etc to help children in a very few selected impoverished communities.

I saw Gert first, then Wes, around 6:30pm but decided to wait until after the speeches to meet them and get pictures. Very bad mistake. Their kid and his family were in town and they left immediately after the ceremony.

We were seated with a very interesting corporate lawyer and his family from Little Rock. He worked with Bill in the 1966 Arkansas gubernatorial primary for the same candidate. Clinton drove the candidate's wife and daughter and our dinner-mate drove the candidate. It just so happened I read the first 100 pages of Clinton's biography on the drive up and the guy is right there-on page 84. He, his wife and their daughter from San Francisco made Michael and me feel very comfortable.

I had 2 beers, at least 5 glasses of wine, and the food was certainly above average (baked chicken, grilled vegs, nice salad and cheesecake).

The program was divided into several parts. Primarily, the "Red Jacket Ball" is meant to build up these kids and show them some support. The first portion had a couple of corpsmen speaking of their experiences, some marching and military calisthenics. After a brief break were we were able to talk, the program returned with corps members singing "America the Beautiful".

Then General Clark took the stage! The hometown audience obviously loved him but not as much as he loves Gert. His job was to introduce her and he did it with great style. Against a photographic backdrop of pictures taken over the last 40 years he described a remarkable woman that he obviously adored. My absolute favorite moment of the night was when Wes PROUDLY said "She doesn't bake cookies either. She's way too busy serving in taking care of others."

Gert, herself, was wonderful. She spoke graciously of the program and its effect on kids, how it allowed them to think beyond themselves into service to others. I was greatly impressed.

Now its time for Bill Clinton's keynote. An 11 year old child from the 9th ward of New Orleans introduced him. When he and his mom were forced to evacuate to Little Rock, she got him involved in the junior auxiliary to the "Red Jackets" called "Young Heros". The kid spoke about how they had helped him come to see himself not as a hurricane victim but as a hurricane survivor. Then this sweet child, his voice frequently breaking, introduced the 42nd president of the United State, Bill Clinton.

The audience went wild (even my rather reserved partner whooped it up!-it was his first time to see Bill in person). He spoke of the importance of the program to young lives and how essential it was to keep funding. In his only political statement of the night, he urged us all to lobby for continues funding, saying the Rethugs wanted to abolish the estate tax to save rich folk like him money while they refused to fund port security (checking cargo freight) or programs like "Red Jacket".


Then Bill spoke of Nelson Mandela and how he hoped to be in South Africa for his 80th birthday celebration and of how he'd made Chelsea watch his release from prison because it was a historic event.He said he asked Mandela if he hated the South African politicians who imprisoned him for so many years. Mandela replied that he had, at first, but had realized that only by releasing that hate could he truly free himself from them.

After his speech, Clinton morphed into Elvis, surrounded by hordes of people waiting for a second. I waited until the worst was over and slowly made my way to him. When I was on his immediate right, several young women were on his immediate left. I was able to stand next to him for 4-5 minutes, with my hand on his shoulder while he was seemingly oblivious. It was really amazing. Eventually he turned, I asked if I could have a picture, and we posed. We'll see if it worked (it was a cheap, disposable camera).

The next day we went to the Clinton Presidential Library and were blown away. It deserves a thread all its own, as does the beautiful city of Little Rock and "Bosco's-The restaurant for beer lovers". Hopefully, I'll get around to it eventually.

It was a magical trip and the perfect way to kick off my better half's retirement! We honored Gert, admired Wes, and loved our President. It doesn't get much better than that!

Sorry I didn't run into you at the event. Here's some pics of the event!

http://community.webshots.com/album/551475110pFEgHs

to buy a digital camera and didn't get it done in time. It doesn't matter-I'll have those memories forever. It was phenomenal and we'll most likely be back. Seeing Wes Clark and Bill Clinton in person is like sex-its not something you do just once and say, okay, whats next? You want more.

ArkySue! It looked like everyone was having a Grand Ol' Time!

Loved it! :hi:

Thank you, I'm envious. :)

for his. It was really great for both of us.

That was OUTSTANDING! I am always in awe of people who can remember tiny details like that so they can write them down. I don't care if you DID write them on the way home, you did a remarkable job. Thank you so much for sharing that with us!

And the pictures from ArkySue, as usual, were superlative! No one catches the excitement of a Clark "do" like Arky! Just amazing, and made me feel like I was there, even though I wasn't!

Thanks again!

TC

That's great report...Haha! You standing there with your hand on Bill's shoulder for 5 minutes.

And Wes does really love Gert, doesn't he? It's so evident and sweet to watch when they're together. Too bad you didn't get to talk to them...Maybe next time. ;)

And oo bad you had such horrific weather on the way down...but I'm glad you made it back OK. What a wonderful weekend!

Oh, and get yourselves a digital camera before the next event. You'll love it.

Thanks Rowdyboy!:) :patriot:

you must have felt having that experience and it was a Two Day one!

The whole summary brought tears to my eyes..your appreciation and excitment were leaping off the page!

Clinton is a lot like Mandela in that he certainly forgives his enemies who wanted to bring him down..but just couldn't quite do it.

:toast: Bosco's!

conference in DC way back in 1995 and was blown away. This was during the time that Repugs were going in for the kill to try and unseat him in 1996. The audience of about 3,000 was at least 75% repugs and THEY gave him a standing ovation. I remember vividly the Kentucky Repug State Chair and State Repug Secretary were seated at my table frowning and making faces at everything he said. They knew the group was mostly Repugs and they were cheering the man. After the speech Big Dog waded right into the crowd, shook hands, posed for pictures, took questions, for at least an hour.

During the standing O and people were clapping, whistling and yelling for the Big Dog, the Repug State Chair looked at the Repug Secretary looked at each other with such disgust. The Secretary threw her napkin and said, "The son of a bitch is going to get re-elected!" I will always savor that moment. We had just spent the better part of an entire week at a conference dealing with issues of small business, having the whole repug agenda crammed down our throats (even then they were trying to gut Society Security, flat tax, repeal of the "death tax," pushing religion at ever turn).

My brother, sister-in-law and niece live in Little Rock. I would love to go visit them and see the Clinton Library. Unfortunately, my brother and SIL are ardent Clinton haters. Every time I try to talk to them about politics they just roll their eyes, put down everything I try to say and then (because, of course they are "experts" because they live in Little Rock) say I just don't KNOW how terrible Clinton is. They hate Clinton with a passion that doesn't even begin to reach rational behavior.

(Funny thing tho - he is a business owner that did great during the Clinton years - business struggling right now and SIL is a teacher who is less than pleased with NCLB, school funding, etc.) They are proof positive that they are willing to shoot themselves in the foot for a political "god."

Wes keeps a grueling schedule hopping on planes the way someone might catch a cab. What may surprise us is the schedule that Gert Clark keeps. Someone once mentioned that the General was only at home four days during a month, and that Gert was only home for two days. Her charity work keeps her on the road. The first picture I ever saw of her was during a reception when they were leaving Europe. She was being honored for her work on behalf of an international children's organization. And then there is the story from someone who served under Wes, that it was Gert who he turned to during his divorce.

All of this is to say, that Gert finds time for people. I'm glad that people found some time for her.


Thanks for such a great and complete report. Glad you made it home okay.

:kick:

TC

as that would have only added to your "day".

I have met the General multiple times, and I have become much more comfortable addressing him each time...something he naturally wants.....but the admiration that I feel for him has been slow in allowing me the level of comfort required to actually hold a conversation with one so obviously accomplished.

I hope you get a chance to talk to him one day soon.....as that would give you the kind of energized emotion that really does give one the "edge" in working to make a difference. Renewed hope is what I term it.

Of course, the Big Dawg is Elvis! that goes without sayin'!

And of Gert; although I have yet to meet her, she just seems to be as down to earth and yet as classy as they come...which is a goal, that I myself, strive to achieve!

Thank you again. :thumbsup:

jealousy, thy name is vikegirl.

K&R!

Sounds like it was an awesome experience, and a great thing to do for your guy's retirement kickoff. I know you took four pages of notes and wanted to say I really appreciate the effort to let us look over your shoulder.

Sounds like a great time, and I appreciate your writing it up for us.

I've seen Gert and Wes, but never gotten a chance to see our President up close. It must have been incredible seeing them all together.

It was almost like being there....I think I know how you felt...(feel)
Hope you get to speak with Gen. Clark one day soon...
windbreeze

ps: thanks too for the pictures arkysue....much appreciated...

American family means to the selfish, dishonest, manipulative, cynical and opportunity destroying CORRUPT REPUBLICAN CRIMINAL CARTEL breaks my heart. It just kills me that they talk about honoring the courage and heroism and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform then vote to deny them benefits and equipment and the respect they deserve. If there's a vote against the best interests of the troops, it always wins because of Republicans. They don't see our troops as anything but pawns in their political calculations and power lust.

Democrats have two rules of honor. Never leave a soldier in the field, and never abandon them when they return home. Where's the Iraqi war heros memorial day, oh Republican controlled congress? To know that there are others out there who are fighting to remove the malignant cancerous growth that has metastasized throughout all levels of this Democracy in the last six years helps me get up in the morning.