By Heather Naegele
Flying down the Potomac before landing at Washington National, I realized just how much needed to be done. There were some parts of the river that were breathtaking; clean, natural, simple. There were other areas, however, that were polluted. Tires were piled up along the bank and oil was floating near the shore. Downtown D.C. didn’t look all that much better. There were areas where the lawns were wel1-groomed and everything was neat, and there were areas that were overrun with litter.
I spent most of the next morning in meetings and the late morning and the early afternoon at the Air and Space Museum. That evening, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. My evening meeting was in the East Wing of the White House. While I was there, I learned a lot about the history of the White House and I was able to talk with many interesting people.
Near the end of the evening, we all gathered in the East Room. After a few moments, the President entered, went to the podium and began his speech. After he completed his speech, he made his way slowly through the audience. Mr. Bush walked past me, turned around, and shook my hand.
“Oh, Hi Heather,” he said.
“Hello, Sir,” I replied.
I was amazed that he knew who I was. Then I remembered I was wearing my name tag.