Friends in High Places
This was my kind of day. Spontaneous and special.
My friend and radio mentor Billie Rodely works for Oklahoma Congresswoman Mary Fallin as her communication director. Very nice and not a bad pay off for getting up around 2 am for the better part of her career to get folks to work with all the news they needed to know during the morning drive (the coveted slot for radio folks)! Billlie also had a fantastic career at OETA with the documentary show Stateline, where she garnered an EMMY award. She has an entire credenza FULL of awards acknowledging her fantastic talent and wonderful career.
I love Billie.
She had invited the kids and I to come visit the congresswoman's OKC office when Fallin, "please call me Mary," was in town.
Another opportunity happened today, and I emailed Billie to see if it would be okay if we brought two Rwandan college students with us! Alain and our friend Placide who are going home to Kigali THIS week after spending two years here at university. They come back here in August to finish their undergrad degrees in engineering.
Sure, she said.
After a morning of shopping for electrical adaptors, various electronic devices and accessories for folks back home, we rushed home, tried to dress up and headed downtown for the meeting. In the elevator, I had to give a couple of kids spit baths (not Alain and Placide), and I wished we had dressed more nicely, and had hair cuts.
On the way to the office I briefly coached the kids not to give home schooling a bad name (don't embarrass me or cause her to run back to Washington to try to outlaw homeschooling!). We reviewed the proper way to speak to her, and that they better answer questions they were asked politely and loudly. All the while, I was secretly praying she didn't ask some complicated math question (like 12 x 11) or ask anyone to recite the Gettysburg Address.
Billie led us on a grand tour of the office, but Cong. Fallin wasn't there yet. While we were peaking into the congresswoman's very nice office, we heard her come through the main door. We were in her office. BUSTED. I don't think she minded! (hope). Later, the kids and I giggled that we should have hidden behind the furniture and jumped out and yelled "Surprise" when she came in!
She met Alain and Placide, and Giles, Lydia and Grant and let us get a quick picture in between important meetings about important matters. She heads back to Washington tomorrow.
She was impressed with the Rwandans, was familiar with their country, was proud they are receiving their education in Oklahoma to take back home to help in building up their country. And to me and the kids she said it was a very neat honor to be able to homeschool!
Great day.
Because we had not had enough fun, we then walked over to the Renaissance Hotel because Giles was SURE someone famous was there. There were at least four big tour buses ... you know, the star kind. One of the bus tags was from Tennessee. Isn't Kenny Chesney coming to OKC soon? Hey. Maybe it's him. The Rwandans, of course, didn't know who he was, so we started singing any song we knew ... and all I could think of was "when the sun goes down."
Because I am an adventurous (lookey loo) mom, we went over to the lobby to people watch. It was a great decision because Alain and Placide thought the lobby, with its open atrium covered with skylights 15 floors above us, was really cool (too bad we didn't have time to go to the Skirvin). Giles (and his child at heart mom) was sure Kenny would saunter in any moment, just like in a country video!
Then, we decided to ride the elevator to the top floor to look down!
Oh. We can't get to the top floor, we discovered, without a special key. At the next elevator stop, a gentleman got on, with the special key! Hey, I said, mind if we get out just to look around?
Sure, he said. No big. Our elevator opened right in front of the pres. suite. Kenny's in there! We were sure. Did we even know when his concert is? No. Do we even really like him? Nah.
Besides being goofy, it was just neat to watch the guys look down! They loved it but admitted a slight bit of squeamishness.
Then there was a magnetic force dragging us into the free concierge room. You know, the places we've heard about, with free food and drinks and fancy furnishings and all of the latest magazines. And only certain special people ($$$) get to go in there.
NO, we didn't take any food! Be for real! But we did take some pictures of future executives in deep negotiation! And checked out the view from 15 floors up of Bricktown, interstate system, and the hospital where Stan works.
We finally left, but just as our elevator door closed to take us down, the Pres. Suite door OPENED. It could have been Kenny. Probably not, Giles. Probably not, I assured him.
Hey, wasn't it cool to meet the congresswoman! Remember that?
I just checked the Ford Center schedule and see Kenny is not here this week. But Kanye West is! I'm pretty sure that was some of his posse we saw, and probably his people in those buses.
I can't wait to tell Alain and Placide. I think Kanye would appeal to them more than margarita cowboy hat dude ... oh, but not as much as meeting a politician!
Here we are on top of the parking garage.
Posted in: on Monday, April 28, 2008 at at 7:46 PM
