Bush Sisters meet A Christmas Story Nov 2017

One of the Dallas B&N’s had the First Daughters in for a book signing.  Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush wrote the book, Sisters First.  I got a copy signed.

They of course were friendly and all smiles.  It was more interesting to watch the crowd. The crowd was 99% women and 1% men. The males in the crowd were fellow autograph collectors. Yes, we did look out of place. The males wore sneakers with shorts or jeans and a sport jersey or concert t-shirt. The women were dressy casual. A dressy casual that looked relaxed but clearly showed the dollars spent.

As the news spread that yes, the Sisters would be posing for photos, a lot of phones were turned to selfie mode as makeup was touched up and recalcitrant hairs were put back in place.

The line moved fast and before I knew it was I front of the sisters. Since I didn’t bring any lip gloss to apply to my makeup, I choose not to take a photo with them. However, I did mention I saw Jenna many years ago at another book signing. That book was Ana’s Story. It was held at a Frisco School auditorium. It was just after she got engaged and she had her new ring.  As she signed Ana’s Story, the ring caught the light. I made some offhand comment about the ring. Jenna was sweet and held her hand up so I could get a closer look. Yes, The Wife, who attended this signing in Frisco and didn’t want to wait with me in line, was extremely jealous. And I’m also sure Secret Service took a few steps closer as I leaned toward the ring.

Well, this is what I wanted to say to Jenna. In reality, I mentioned Ana’s Story and I quickly mentioned the ring glittering in the light. And I added The Wife was jealous.  It might have been 1 sentence and about 10 words. I then looked at them expectantly. Jenna and Barbara’s smiles never faltered.  They thanked me for coming. They nodded and I left.

Afterward, feeling chagrined and reviewing the exchange in my head, I realized I was Ralphie from A Christmas Story. I had just asked Santa for a Red Ryder BB gun with a Compass in the stock. I was rushed. I was blathering. All that was needed to finish the scene was Jenna telling me: You’ll shoot your eye out Kid.

Maybe I should have used some lip gloss.

AH