arthur's theme

living in austin, and having the clientele that i do; i know alot of people who are personal friends of president and mrs. bush. it is odd living in a town so polarized by this man. a small part are very fond of this man who was governor here in austin. a far greater percentage hate him for ruining the world...at least in their opinion.

one person i know who is friendly with the bush's is a woman named suzy. she has known them since she was in college with laura. they were neighbors in midland and then again, here in austin. suzy is an interior designer and a florist. she gets all kinds of interesting work. probably none is cooler than the opportunity she has had for the last 6 years to decorate the white house for the christmas holidays. of course, the job is monumental and she is one of many designers; but, she has always gotten the west wing as her responsibility. each winter, she is in washington for two weeks of continuous work.

suzy's daughter lives in d.c. when she finished college, she got a job in the white house (who you know.) it is hard work, time intensive, and alot of fun. fortunately for us, she is not determining, or influencing policy. suzy enjoys spending the early part of december in the nation's capital with her daughter and her old friends.

this year, suzy brought home a gift for jackson. he was so excited when i told him it came from the house of the president of the united states. being a six year-old, all things are simple. if one is the president; he must be a great man, and everything he does must be right. i remember thinking the same when reagan ran against carter in '80. i figured reagan must be an evil person to be saying such mean things about the president. times sure have changed. now i hear someone speaking well of a politician, and i assume some ulterior agenda is being spun.

back to jackson's gift. suzy gave him this year's official white house christmas ornament. it's representative of the administration of chester a arthur. it is a bit gaudy and flashy; but, it sure is shiny as it picks up the light from the tree.

thanks, suzy. jackson loves it.