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Meeting POTUS
By Chuck Mahaleris
WELLS- I couldn't speak for a minute. I'm not one who generally gets tongue-tied but what I had just heard stopped me dead in my tracks. The polite man from the White House waited patiently for me to regain my senses. I think he must get that reaction a lot. Left, President George Bush and his mother, Former First Lady Barbara Bush.The Monument: Mahaleris photo

His words on the phone to me had been, "As you know, you will be one of the official greeters for the President's visit to Wells Reserve."

I was going to meet the President of the United States -POTUS as he is called by those who arrange his trips. President George Bush was planning to visit Maine to give his Earth Day message.

You don't just grab your keys and decide on the spur of the moment to attend one of these events. Everyone who goes has to be checked out by Secret Service in advance. You have to have a ticket to get in and you can't get a ticket without telling them your social security number, birth date, and other information.

One phone call turned into two and then three. Each one gave me additional information about protocol and what to expect when I and the others greeted President Bush. One of the three calls asked me if I preferred Charlie, Chuck or Charles and the proper pronunciation of my last name.

After hanging up I called my mother with the news. "Mom, the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, the most powerful man on the planet- will be receiving a briefing tomorrow on how to say Ma-HA-ler-iss." She laughed. It turns out that the President didn't mention my name when we met. I think the advance guy was being very polite.

I was told to drive to the event alone and be sure to bring a photo I.D. I nervously thought about the experience and who I would send copies of the picture to of me shaking hands with POTUS. I was giddy, antsy, and excited at once.

The protesters, about 100 from my quick reckoning, seemed very prepared. They were extremely organized. They had marked out their spots in advance and seemed well prepared.

Security was tight. I had to cross four security checkpoints. There were local police, State police, and Secret Service agents working together to secure the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm for the presidential visit. The police carried big guns while the Secret Service men looked stone-faced at everyone who approached and you knew there was a gun under their coat ready to welcome anyone looking for trouble. The Coast Guard helicopter provided aerial surveillance. Above, Bonnie Waybright, Marie Reimensnyder and Ann Thaxter of New Gloucester at the Wells Reserve protest of George Bush's wetlands environmental policy unveiling on Earth Day. The Monument: Ellie Fellers photo.

I arrived shortly after nine and was ushered into the library where I would wait with seven others. Our group was pretty diverse. There was a high school student from Portland and a successful real estate broker from Falmouth. There was a couple of strong activists from Hancock County and two men who seemed to be very well-connected to the state political machine from Dover-Foxcroft and Sangerville.

The last member of our group was a guy who stayed to himself. I introduced myself and he said his name was Walker. I never claimed to be very bright. I thought about "Walker- Texas Ranger" and he corrected me. Our 41st president was George Herbert Walker Bush. That Walker. Walker is studying government at Bowdoin. He was unassuming, very polite, and seemed rather shy.

Two of the President's advance team then took us along a muddy trail through some of the woods in the 1600-acre reserve. Left, The President's cousin, Walker. The Monument: Mahaleris photo

Barron was part of one of the White House's advance teams. He had just started working for the president two weeks prior and we were his first team that was responsible for organizing and moving about. He told me after we arrived at the spot where we would greet the President that they had arrived a couple days before and had spent their time organizing and taking care of logistics.

Barron said, "After you greet the president you will want to step over here out of the way." "Is that a requirement from the President?" Barron answered, "No, the media will be rushing through right after you finish and they are not particularly polite about getting people out of their way to get to the president." The Greeters being ushered to their greeting station. The Monument: Mahaleris photo

Staffers started moving in and out of the area very quickly. It was hard at first to tell staffers from Secret Service agents. Some agents were dressed as casually as the staff and both groups had those "West Wing" earpieces and microphones in their sleeves. I got a little nervous when one agent moved quickly through our group, stopped, counted heads, clutched something under his coat and counted heads again. He must have been satisfied as he turned and moved quickly back into the woods.

Our group got very quiet when a very recognizable figure strode down the trail came. It was the President's mother, Barbara Bush. Mrs. Bush is a warm and engaging woman. Whatever your politics, this woman is the embodiment of
"grandmother." She asked each greeter about ourselves and wanted to know what we do for work. She was glad to speak with us. She was so casual and friendly about it that we were all set relatively at ease or at least as relaxed as you can be around a former First Lady. Above: Security is tight. The Monument: Mahaleris photo

Sirens began to sound and everyone waited as they drew closer. One SUV drove by and the President jumped out of the next one, hugged his mother, waved to the 400 people waiting at the top of the hill to hear him speak, and walked into the woods where his greeters were nervously waiting.

Side by side with his mother, he walked to us in confident strides. "Ellis," he said to Walker. "I see you are growing whiskers. I guess you didn't realize mother would be joining us?" Walker laughed and replied he hadn't. I was next in line.

I had spent a lot of time before arriving thinking about what I would say to him. I love America's National Parks and had come up with an idea for Earth Day that would promote all America's national treasures by developing a National Treasures Passport book where children and families could collect stamps at every National Park, Forest, Seashore, Historic Place, or Reserve they visited.
He smiled. He looked me in the eyes. He extended his hand and said, "I hope this old woman hasn't been bothering you?"

I smiled. "No Mr. President. You're mother has been perfectly wonderful."
"Yes she is," he said as he moved to the next greeter. And that was it. Left, The trail is muddy. The Monument: Mahaleris photo

I had met the President of the United States, shaken his hand, looked him in the eye and sung the praises for a woman I had just met a few minutes before. I had a heck of a story to share with my children. I would let him know about my great idea another day.

I led our group out of the way and sure enough the media came running at full speed through the mud to try to catch up to the President. Some were carrying television cameras, some were carrying big awkward microphones, and others were simply pushing to try to get a better spot. One reporter nearly got run over after he lost his footing and fell into the muck.

After his speech, President Bush came down and shook hands, posed for pictures, and signed autographs. He had spent about twenty minutes talking and at least twenty more meeting people and signing their tickets before rushing back to the airport to attend another event in Washington, DC.