CENTRAL VIEW for Monday, March 18, 2024

Celebrity encouners: Read between the lines

It is very easy to spin facts, making them more or less than warranted.;{more with Mrs. Gorbachev than with Mrs. Reagan.

Fact: Mrs. Gorbachev and I attended a performance of South Korea’s "Little Angels Children’s Folk Ballet" up in Moscow’s Lenin Hills. Added fact:, Mrs. Gorbachev sat in a front-row seat and I sat 20 rows back in an aisle seat. Reporter lore: Always, grab an aisle seat.

When the curtain went down, the audience was told to remain seated while the USSR’s First Lady made her exit. That meant Riesa Gorbachev would be coming right by me. As she approached, I held up my tiny camera in my left hand. Pointing to the camera with my right hand, I asked "Da?" Graciously, Mrs. Gorbachev smiled and said, "Da." The shutter snapped. Fact: So, yes. We attended the same event and we had a brief conversation, albeit merely exchanging the Russian word for "yes."

Fact: One time, I stood 12 feet from President Reagan and took the photo that hangs in my study. But I never met Mrs. Reagan. As for Presidents George Bush, the Elder, and George Bush, the Younger, I spoke with both of them one-on-one on several occasions.

But did President George W. Bush and yours truly have a very intimate conversation? Yes. Fact: One time, along the reporters’ rope line, President Bush stopped right in front of me. G.W. reached his left hand up past my right ear and his right hand up past my left ear to touch hands with people directly behind me. This put us literally nose-to-nose. "Old Spice?" I whispered. "The President, not missing a beat, whispered, "Nah, Stetson," and moved on, demonstrating how his quick mind was so "misunderestimated."

More celebrity facts: This reporter had lunch with Oliver North, twice. Yes, each time at a table for ten. Fact: Ollie North is the real deal. His Marine blood bleeds red, white, and blue patriotism.

In 2008, Wonder Wife and I escorted aviation great Emily Warner* to a Mitt Romney** campaign event. Football legend, John Elway, was the M.C.

Spotting a campaign aide, I introduced him to Emily, America’s first female airline captain, and to Wonder Wife, a laureate of the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. Suitably impressed, the aide pointed to five empty reserved seats. He said, "Take three of the seats and save two for Elway and his date."

After introducing Romney to the crowd, John Elway and his date took the two seats beside us. A photo request would have been gauche. Besides, months earlier, Elway signed Wonder Wife’s NFL football.

As we were leaving, an aide said Governor Romney wants you for a photo. Arriving at a curtained off area, Governor Romney invited us to stand with him in front of a set of flags. We expressed our hope that President Obama would be defeated. He promised to try. .

NB: These tales will continue until morale improves.

* In 1973, Emily Warner broke the glass ceiling so women could become airline pilots. ** At the time, we were not aware that Romney was a RINO.

NB: Until morale improves, these stories will continue.

©2024. William Hamilton.

Dr. Hamilton can be contacted at:

Email: william@central-view.com