Momma and her kiddos

The picture above was taken at an event with Laura Bush. My fabulous sister-in-law, Carolyn, brought her to Arts & Letters Live (a program of the Dallas Museum of Art.)   We found Craig there, which was a fun surprise since we weren't sure he would be attending. (They don't let just ANYONE into these programs!)

The coolest thing about the evening was that Carolyn had the honor or introducing President Bush! She is always incredibly graceful in word and deed, and we were so proud of her that night!  She greeted the President to the stage, where he was welcomed with a long, rousing standing ovation. He then proceeded to introduce Laura, weaving a bit of humor and wit along with his short, introductory speech.

Laura was the real guest of honor, as her book tour is well under way. I'm just a few chapters into the book, but I'm hooked already. On this evening, Laura spoke of her journey growing up in West Texas, how her early years formed her into the person she is today. She gave a bit of insight into the White House years, but really only as a teaser for us to read her book.

An interesting Q&A followed. The audience had submitted questions on note-cards for her aides to pre-screen. (Who knows... maybe the only ones she answered were carefully placed by her aides to begin with.) She did NOT choose my question... asking if there was an author, past or present, that she would like the opportunity to interview. Nor did she give a shout out to me in the audience, which I informed her about on my note-card, ever so delicately.  HEY LAURA, I'M A BUSH FROM ATHENS TEXAS!  

Soooo, she didn't answer my question. And she didn't recognize me. But that's ok, I had MY mother next to me, another famous author from Texas. And I was proud to be related to her!