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| This guy knows how to wait out a traffic jam on a hot summer day. |
This past Wednesday, President Obama (with the help of Governor Rick Perry) created a traffic jam on the Dallas North Tollway that lasted more than an hour while the president's motorcade moved from Love Field to a prominent Dallas Attorney's home in North Dallas. The arrival of Air Force One at DFW International was a first for Obama, making him only the third sitting President to land at DFW. Air Force One had not landed at DFW since 1992. From DFW, the president took Marine One, along with it's decoy look-alike and three Osprey's that carried the press corp to Love Field. The reason for the switch: Love Field has been undergoing a major renovation of both terminals and runway/taxiways. The last time Air Force One landed at Love, the flight deck at DalFort Fueling was cramped, to say the least, but dodging yellow cones and barrels from the left hand seat of Air Force One, some seven stories up in the air, was like watching some test driver move in and out between cones in a zig-zag pattern along a test track that only a professional could handle.
The work that Love Field was undergoing on Wednesday was due to be finished in time for the arrival of Air Force One ( SAM 29000 ran late arriving as Air Force One anyway) and the work was finished, but at the time the schedule was put into place, the White House Staff for Schedule Making decided to land at DFW to error on the safe side. After all, it was POTUS that was being juggled around in the schedule. As it ended up, the meeting with Governor Perry and others was held in one of the conference rooms at DalFort Fueling where Air Force One usually parks anyway.
The old neighborhood where mom had lived has changed a lot since she passed over. It's more youthful now. Many of the wonderful 1950-60 era sprawling one floor ranch-styles have been purchased up, torn down and rebuilt with McMansions, the process of reclaiming perfectly good neighborhoods and putting two story and still sprawling houses with both double and a single garage doors and roof lines that make Edgar Allen Poe's House of Seven Gables easy to count by today's standards.
On Wednesday, the neighborhood's neighbors were all out in force to catch a glimpse of POTUS. I can recall doing the same thing when Carter, Nixon and Johnson had come to my neighborhood after I had left the nest and started my own family. Nothing in life really changes much, just the GPS points and neighborhood names and a little architecture meddling hear and there.
This was the first time out of the last six trips to the Metroplex that I have failed to go watch Air Force One arrive. Actually, I had planned to go over to the old neighborhood and do what all the old neighbors were doing--wait to catch a glimpse of the president. But, that would be worse than getting caught up in traffic snarls at either of the two airports, the tollway etc.,etc.
St. Michael Drive runs from Forest Lane near Medical City Hospital to Royal Lane between US 75 Central Expressway to Hillcrest Avenue. At Royal Lane, St. Michael becomes Boedecker, continues to run south and ends in the new parking lot of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University. When ever I cross Boedecker to this day, I sing the word to the tune of "Gold-Finger!" by saying, Boe--Decker!-- is a street. It's just one of those things that I like to do. The area is just west and behind the JCC (Jewish Community Center) on Northhaven Road. Midbury runs one street north of Northhaven.
The part of the street were the president would be attending is east of St. Michael on a cul-de-sac. I'm sure the Secret Service were pulling out their hair again because it is such a "dead end" type- area. It's one of the things mom liked about the neighborhood. She liked driving the back roads and she knew every angle of that neighborhood like the back of her hand. You never wanted to race her on the expressways. Just when you thought you had won--you looked up and saw the baby blue Buick coming at you. She would park having gotten the right-of-way and all you could do was to pull in next to her (and laugh to yourself in defeat).
For now, there will be a count down to to the retirement of this SAM-29000 and the back-up. The bigger and more modern and upgraded 747-800 with the elongated second deck will await a new President in 2016. There has been talk of a new Marine One and others in the detail. Most people get excited over a new car. I get excited over a new presidential plane. After all, it is the most visible source for our American Democracy on display where ever it flies. So make the best of presidential motorcade traffic jams!!
The work that Love Field was undergoing on Wednesday was due to be finished in time for the arrival of Air Force One ( SAM 29000 ran late arriving as Air Force One anyway) and the work was finished, but at the time the schedule was put into place, the White House Staff for Schedule Making decided to land at DFW to error on the safe side. After all, it was POTUS that was being juggled around in the schedule. As it ended up, the meeting with Governor Perry and others was held in one of the conference rooms at DalFort Fueling where Air Force One usually parks anyway.
The old neighborhood where mom had lived has changed a lot since she passed over. It's more youthful now. Many of the wonderful 1950-60 era sprawling one floor ranch-styles have been purchased up, torn down and rebuilt with McMansions, the process of reclaiming perfectly good neighborhoods and putting two story and still sprawling houses with both double and a single garage doors and roof lines that make Edgar Allen Poe's House of Seven Gables easy to count by today's standards.
On Wednesday, the neighborhood's neighbors were all out in force to catch a glimpse of POTUS. I can recall doing the same thing when Carter, Nixon and Johnson had come to my neighborhood after I had left the nest and started my own family. Nothing in life really changes much, just the GPS points and neighborhood names and a little architecture meddling hear and there.
This was the first time out of the last six trips to the Metroplex that I have failed to go watch Air Force One arrive. Actually, I had planned to go over to the old neighborhood and do what all the old neighbors were doing--wait to catch a glimpse of the president. But, that would be worse than getting caught up in traffic snarls at either of the two airports, the tollway etc.,etc.
St. Michael Drive runs from Forest Lane near Medical City Hospital to Royal Lane between US 75 Central Expressway to Hillcrest Avenue. At Royal Lane, St. Michael becomes Boedecker, continues to run south and ends in the new parking lot of the George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University. When ever I cross Boedecker to this day, I sing the word to the tune of "Gold-Finger!" by saying, Boe--Decker!-- is a street. It's just one of those things that I like to do. The area is just west and behind the JCC (Jewish Community Center) on Northhaven Road. Midbury runs one street north of Northhaven.
The part of the street were the president would be attending is east of St. Michael on a cul-de-sac. I'm sure the Secret Service were pulling out their hair again because it is such a "dead end" type- area. It's one of the things mom liked about the neighborhood. She liked driving the back roads and she knew every angle of that neighborhood like the back of her hand. You never wanted to race her on the expressways. Just when you thought you had won--you looked up and saw the baby blue Buick coming at you. She would park having gotten the right-of-way and all you could do was to pull in next to her (and laugh to yourself in defeat).
For now, there will be a count down to to the retirement of this SAM-29000 and the back-up. The bigger and more modern and upgraded 747-800 with the elongated second deck will await a new President in 2016. There has been talk of a new Marine One and others in the detail. Most people get excited over a new car. I get excited over a new presidential plane. After all, it is the most visible source for our American Democracy on display where ever it flies. So make the best of presidential motorcade traffic jams!!
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