The time my sister met the president

My sister lives in Texas, the state of pride. Pride for their food, their football, and the Alamo. But, as anyone who has had a conversation with a native Texan will know, more than anything they have pride for their state and their country. So when George W. was elected president, I can see it being the ultimate patriotic pride symbol for Texas at large. According to my sister, I'm right. George W. is at the center of Texas pride, and apparently seeing pictures of him around town is the norm. From the grocery store to the doctors office, his smiling face is often found looking out at you as you go about your day.

So that's why, when my sister sat down across from George himself, it took her a minute to realize it. 

Emily had signed up to meet with a dietician at her local learning center and today was her first appointment. Like with most appointments, she signed in at the desk, took a clipboard back to her seat to fill out some personal information, and then sat back to look around the room. And that's when she saw him. George W. Bush, former President of the United States of America, sitting there in all his glory. But here's the thing, she had become so accustomed to seeing his face in pictures that she honestly wasn't sure if he was real, or if it was his picture. You know that episode of What Not to Wear when they run into Clinton on the street and he looks about 80 years old without his camera makeup on so they don't even recognize him? It was like that, except completely the opposite. Apparently he looked so much like his picture that she really couldn't be sure if it was him. And so she sat there, staring at him, mouth half open, eyes squinting, not unlike an elderly person trying to read a menu when they forgot their reading glasses at home. 

After a minute of her staring, he - George W. Bush, former leader of the Free World - looked up at her and said, "Hi, are you alright?" To which she responded, " . . . yes. I'm sorry . . .  I'm sorry." And then her name was called and she went back for her meeting. 

What do we learn from this? I am not the only one who loses my cool! If only Spencer had been there, he seems to be able to keep his head in these situations. 

She was a little too flustered in the moment to ask for a photo, so I took it upon myself to photoshop her into Laura's place.