The Pickup

Well, it’s not often that I get to pickup the Vice President of
any country from the airport, but that was my night. But
tonight, I did pickup Vice President Santos and his family from LAX.
Oddly, it’s all so “under the radar” that there’s minimal security
(don’t worry, this won’t get posted while he’s here) for this
particular visit. And thankfully it’s not “official,” because even
this “simplest of simple” unofficial visits has been unbelievably
time consuming for me. I’ve spent the past 3-4 days, full-time, on
the phone withe various people making sure things are setup.

They are fantastically gracious, easygoing and willing to help.
They were carrying their own luggage and went through standard
Customs — which I know would not have happened had they preannounced
this visit as “official.” They’re relatively new to office, and I can
only hope that they maintain this “unspoiled” attitude through their
4 (or more) years in office. But I could see how it could be really
easy to get used to people doing everything for you … then one day,
you’re back to normal again. Weird.

Anyway, as I write this it’s approaching 3 am … and I have to get
up early to make sure things go smoothly tomorrow. And I’m not even
sure why I’m even writing this … maybe more for my memory than for
you, even… Chat w/you later.