Saturday, March 12, 2011

Me and the Veep

OK, so here's what actually happened. I did get my 15 minutes, although very late in the day and totally not because of anything I did or was. Except in the right place at the right time.

I got to the monument a few minutes after nine, as requested. Most of Group A was there, and we did the usual things that people do when waiting for instructions: talk, make jokes, ask questions no one can answer, complain, smoke, and mill around aimlessly, passing on rumors and hoping that something would happen soon.

That didn't happen. However, eventually we were all assigned tasks and moved across the street to the square. Our task was to help with "crowd control" at the metal detectors. You know, tell people to take everything out of their pockets, repeat what they could and couldn't take in with them (liquids, food, sharp objects. And umbrellas. Don't bring an umbrella on this beautiful spring day after a horrendous winter.

This would have worked out quite well, except for one small problem: They started letting people through the metal detectors before they got us crowd controllers in
place.

Piss poor planning, I would say. And the Universe would respond, "What makes you think it was planned?"

So I stood in a corner next to a young Moldovan holding a sign which reiterated in three languages everything they could and couldn't bring. It wasn't that bad, although it could hardly be considered helping much. Mostly, I joked with the secret service guys and enjoyed being with American men who got my jokes.

Finally, I had enough "helping" and left to wander around and observe. There was hot water for coffee and tea in the press section, and chairs. There was a kind of warm up show going on, mostly Moldovan pop and folk music. Very festive and Moldovan. I hung out and smoked until the Veep arrived and the speeches began.

Good speech, good guy, over soon. The Veep left to have more conversations with Moldovan politicians and we waited for the next thing to happen, which was a "meet and greet" for Embassy staff, the Peace Corps and mothers and children. We didn't find out until later who the mothers and children were supposed to be, but they were a diverse and photogenic group. Of course. So are we, for that matter. There were several pictures with the kids and the Veep, sitting on the stage and enjoying one of those warm, cuddly political moments.

After he ran the rope of the Embassy staff, we were told that we would have a picture taken, all of the Peace Corps Moldova, with his Veepness. We dutifully climbed on the risers and arranged ourselves, taller in back, shorter in front, which of course leaves me front and center, wishing I were taller, remembering to stand up straight.

The Veep arrived, posed, and then instead of leaving, talked to us about what he thought was the most important thing we could be doing in this world to effect change and work through the geopolitical changes that are happening around us.

He also stroked us, thanked us for our sacrifices, the usual thing we've come to expect as our due. He said something about his generation, and I piped up from behind him and added, "My generation, too."

He turned around and hugged me and agreed, and then stood for the rest of the time with his arm around me. When he finished, he hugged me and kissed me on the cheek.

Wow! Me, Ms.Feminist-we-are-all-the same-egalitarian-socialist-pinko-bleeding-heart liberal-world-traveler-this doesn't impress-me, with the Veep's arm around me, loving every minute of it!

So that's my fifteen minutes, undoubtedly one of the coolest things that ever happened to me.

See ya.

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