[silver_pilate]

xxxBlakexxx,

Congratulations! I know you will have a very exciting and rewarding time.

I had the opportunity to meet Bush twice while he was governor of TX. I grew up next to former Texas speaker of the house Pete Laney, and Bush and Pete (who is a Democrat) are very close friends. They were able to work cooperatively in Texas to foster a bi-partisan atmosphere that would be hard pressed to be found anywhere else in the United States. Pete and Bush worked better together than Bush and his then-second-in-command Rick Perry (who, in MHO is a petty little republican media hog).

I met Bush once at the capital while touring with a local jazz band in Austin, and the second time was at a highschool football game in my 2A hometown when Pete invited him out. He's a very down to earth and straight to the point kind of man. Most people who grew up in West Texas are. I think that is one of the reasons he came off looking so bad in the debates. He would answer the questions, and then the moderators would ask, "but what about ____," or "but what if this...." His frustration started to show when he would answer the question, and nobody seemed to want to hear the answer he gave. All the while, they let Kerry dance around his answers for almost thirty minutes while not saying a single concrete thing.

Anyway, have a good time at your meeting. I wish you well, and thank you for your work with children. May God bless you and yours.

--nathan