Excellent Adventure

See a President, in person. 

As a lifelong lover of history and of events in the world around me, I've yearned over my lifetime to see a President of the United States in person. 

I don't know if this bucket-list constant will ever be fulfilled, but having the opportunity to attend an event in Tacoma last night, featuring former First Lady Michelle Obama came close enough, at least for now.

Yesterday, my daughter-in-law Debbie and I left our homes in Sandpoint and set off our way toward the Tacoma Dome, via Subaru, jet plane, rental car and even Lyft and Uber. 

During moments of downright giddiness, funky fun with selfies and sometime perfect strangers, visiting with relatives and new and old friends, I would occasionally give myself a figurative pinch and even declare out loud that I could not wrap my arms around the fact that we were going to see Michelle Obama, in person!

We also learned about a week ago that the former First Lady would be bringing  commedian and newly ordained Gonzaga fan Jimmy Kimmel with her on the Tacoma stop of her world book tour.  

Kimmel's monologues last week regarding the mythical university competing in the NCAA tournament, known as "Gonzaga" added more excitement to our expectations.

And, so we put in a long day yesterday, driving, flying, dining, standing in lines and climbing a steep flight of stairs to the nosebleed section of the Tacoma Dome.  

Once Debbie and I found our seats, we stayed put, in awe with the crowd and pre-event photos flashing on the screens, accompanied by upbeat, "make ya wanta get out of your seat and dance" music.  

In our  high-up perches, we knew better to succumb to the temptation of dancing in the aisles. When the screen noted that the program would begin, a giant roar of affirmation came over the mass of humanity (high percentage of women) in that event center. 

In fact, it was pretty obvious, the planners knew the expected demographic as we walked past many restrooms, normally for MEN where makeshift signs with the word "Women" had been attached to the wall above the doors. 

Michelle did not disappoint, nor did Jimmy nor did the surprise appearance of a few Washington celebrities, including a brief speech by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. 

Nerves were apparent as the program began with Jimmy Kimmel introducing Michelle. Those nerves quickly calmed as the two sat on couches for a sitdown interview. 

The two-hour program featured Jimmy asking the questions and just enough back and forth banter between the two very funny people to keep the crowd laughing. 

The emphasis in last night's conversation could be summed up in a couple of phrases/words:  family and the importance of telling your story. 

Michelle's story involves, yes, meeting and marrying the future President of the United States but more prominantly poignant and funny anecdotes of family life on the South Side of Chicago where parents worked hard all the time to ensure a brighter future for their two children Craig and Michelle.

Her stories also featured extended family involvement, stories of close friends, college and career experiences/changes and a constant striving to do everything to a high level, especially during those eight years spent in the White House.  

Michelle noted at the end of the program that only a small portion of her bestseller Becoming is devoted to time in the White House. 

In her mind, it seems, the "becoming" aspect of life is most important, and it was obvious that her mission on this book tour is to encourage people to "become" their best, not necessarily with an impressive resume but with what they have to offer in making the world a better place. 

The program ended too soon, but when it did, that mass of humanity left the building calmly, safely and with a lot of smiles.  People were downright nice and polite as we slowly made our way to the doors. 

It was refreshing.

Today we fly back home, we might even see Annie at the airport.  She has spent the weekend with co-workers in the Arizona desert---a far reach from the mud and snow back in Sandpoint.  

But, as we slog through the sloppy part of spring, I'm sure Debbie and I will be thinking a lot about the memorable and inspiring day we spent on yesterday's excellent adventure.

Bucket-list yearnings---that one was A-okay, and I'll survive if I never see a President in person after last night's experience. 

By the way, Becoming is a great read. I'm about halfway through the book and plan to really enjoy each page yet to come.

Happy Monday. 

Alicia, Debbie's longtime friend on lower right, joined us last night. We visited briefly with Alicia's husband Andrew and their daughter Emma.