Home > Wendy Does Waco > Archives > 2009 > January > 20 > Entry
Abe Lincoln wears girl gloves and other Inaugural Ball gossip
SLIDE SHOW
There was dancing, fine food, presidential guests and paparazzi. It was too much for me, I had to leave the party when all the guests started stripping.
Yes, let me tell ya, the Kindergarten Inaugural Ball at Cedar Ridge Elementary School Tuesday afternoon was quite a doozy.
Anyone who is (or was) anyone was there. Starting with Abraham Lincoln. To accompany his Abe mask-on-a-stick, this ball attendee decided to sport some sparkly long gloves for the occasion. I caught up with him in the buffet line.
“You’re Abe Lincoln. That’s cool,” I told him.
He scoffed at me (who knew kindergartners could scoff?) and said, “Well, at least I’ve got a lot of money.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him he was also quite dead.
But the witty young woman in an oversized ball gown behind Abe cut him down to size. “He’s got girl gloves on,” she said. Indeed.
I chatted with Michele Obama, who kept tripping herself and everyone within 3 yards of her with her dress-up dress. Barack Obama was too shy for interviews or photos. I think he was just overwhelmed, being the leader of the free world and all.
Also in attendance were the Clintons and Jimmy Carter and the Bidens. “Look I’m an old guy,” fake Joe Biden said as he paraded past me. And there was the Secretary of Education, because, what’s a party without the Secretary of Education? I wonder if that cutie even knew he had drawn the short straw. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts was there cutting a rug with a reporter, scandalous! (see photo)
The Secret Service agents were an imposing sight, in their black T-shirts, dark glasses and ear pieces, standing maybe 4 feet tall. And they played their roles to the hilt.
“Are you Bush’s daughter?” one kindergarten cop asked me.
“Umm, no?” I answered, confused and strangely flattered by his query.
He decided he’d let me in the cafeteria anyway. But man, did I have competition, there were a handful of pint-size journalists with notebooks and pens, interviewing the ball attendees. I was intrigued as I watched these students, who can’t write yet, scribble furiously in their notebooks.
“Let me see your notes,” I said to one colleague (who later asked me to take her potty. Geesh, reporters are needy). I was about to laugh when I saw she had truly been scribbling, then I looked at my own chicken scratch and decided to walk away quietly.
The ball guests, dressed in finery from several dress-up boxes, were a surreal sight. The boys sported dapper plastic Panama hats with oversized shirts and long ball gloves (ok, one also had a red patten leather purse, but I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and call it a man bag). They looked like midget extras to a Michael Jackson video. In a word — Awesome.
They mingled and ate finger ham sandwiches and a homemade cake with Obama’s likeness on it. And in the end, they un-dress up-dressed and went back to class.
Yes, we partied like it was 2009.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment |
Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F
Post a comment
Before you comment, please take a few moments to make sure that what you're saying is civil and respectful. We don't tolerate personal attacks, insults, name-calling, impersonations or generally hateful comments — they don't make for a pleasant (or productive) conversation. We want to raise the level of debate and encourage a wide diversity of viewpoints — and that means disagreeing without being disagreeable. If you wouldn't say it to your grandmother, you probably shouldn't say it here.
Your comment will be removed from WacoTrib.com if it runs afoul of these guidelines or anything else in our site's visitor agreement.
*HTML not allowed in comments. Your e-mail address is required.
Comments
By Reader
January 20, 2009 7:19 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Wendy, I saw that Clear Channel laid off 9% of their workforce today. Obviously, this was an attempt to “bury” the news in the inauguration. Has anyone in Waco been affected?
By Mark Osler
January 21, 2009 8:42 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
There’s so much we are still finding out about Lincoln…
By Cecil 1
January 21, 2009 9:02 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Reader, when a company lays off people it is usually because they are trying to reduce operating cost, why would you think it had any thing to do with the inauguration, dang is it just me, are has ever one in this country become paranoic because a man with a funny name has been has been elected to be President. By the way Reader, I mean no disrespect to you, just a need to know your thoughts..
By cj
January 22, 2009 9:27 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
My thought is that we need to keep politics out of kindergarten. Let’s at least wait until middle school to run these brainwashing, reeducation camps. Learning about the process of our government is fine for later elementary, but enough mock polls, voting and dressing as your favorite politician. Can’t we let them be kids for a while anymore instead of political tools for their parents and teachers.