Happy Birthday to First Lady Laura Bush

Today is First Lady Laura Bush's birthday so Happy Birthday Laura.

One of the good things about the election season is that it brought First Lady Laura Bush to Schaumburg IL, a long way from both Texas and Washington DC. I was fortunate to be able to attend this campaign event which required advance reservations. I arrived a little more than two hours in advance of Mrs. Bush's arrival and was able to move up to about three rows of people back from the front. It certainly was a long time standing.

This was a campaign event for the congressional campaigns of David McSweeney and Peter Roskam, and the gubernatorial campaign of Judy Baar Topinka. There is a Daily Herald story about the event that you can read to learn more.

Mrs. Bush gave a good stump speech about the various issues that are dominant this election season. Mrs. Bush was preceded by speeches from McSweeney, Roskam, Topinka, and IL state GOP Chairman Andy McKenna. Following her speech, the First Lady took time to walk along the front of the line giving autographs and having her picture taken. While I did get to say hi to her and get her autograph, I now kick myself for not turning over my camera and asking to have our picture taken. For some reason, it just didn't seem right to me at the time – like too much of an imposition.

And Mrs. Bush: I must say that this is the first time that I have attended an event to see a celebrity who was neither an astronaut nor a scientist so consider yourself to be in exclusive company.

I must add that I am very happy that I had a digital camera for this event, as opposed to my film camera. Many shots were spoiled due to the jostle of the crowd, some out of focus due to movement on my part as well as playing with focus and zoom settings. Knowing that I didn't have to pay for film, pay for processing, or worry about changing rolls made it possible for me to be much more carefree when it came to taking pictures at the event.

Ad Astra, Jim

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