WHITE HOUSE HANUKKAH PARTY LEFT MEMORIES.Byline: Bruce L. Bialosky Local View THERE are certain moments emblazoned in our minds that we keep separate from the others. For me, they are (in no particular order) getting the game-winning hit in my Little League championship game, graduating college, my wedding day, the birth of my children, attending the inauguration INAUGURATION. This word was applied by the Romans to the ceremony of dedicating some temple, or raising some man to the priesthood, after the augurs had been consulted. It was afterwards applied to the installation (q.v. of our current president. Now I can add to that attending an event at the White House. I had the good fortune of being included in President Bush's Hanukkah party at the White House this past week. It was his second annual Hanukkah party. President Bush is the first president to have such an event and the first to light a menorah menorah Multibranched candelabra used by Jews during the festival of Hanukkah. It holds nine candles (or has nine receptacles for oil). Eight of the candles stand for the eight days of Hanukkah—one is lit the first day, two the second, and so on. in the White House. While my wife and I waited for our plane to take off, it began to hit me as I read an article about anti-Semitic activities around the world: Synagogues A list of synagogues around the world. Contents: Top - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A
A Jewish holiday or Jewish Festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as a holy or secular commemoration of an important event in Jewish history. . I love this country. The time soon arrived to walk from our hotel over to the White House. The anticipation had built all day. Every waking moment had been spent thinking about our night's activities. Our friends who had the good fortune to attend last year's Hanukkah party were pumped for information. The time had come to pass security and wind our way into the home of our elected leader. The hall was filled with military personnel dressed as nicely as we guests. They were volunteers from the various services who help at events such as these. As we moved forward, it was chilling to watch them and to begin soaking up the atmosphere. We passed paintings of our past presidents mingled with pictures of our current president. As we turned the corner, we saw the White House menorah. A high school choir from Manhattan was singing Hanukkah songs. Later, the kids joined us at the party, and I had a chance to speak with them and thank them. One of the girls glowingly replied to me when asked if they enjoyed their experience, ``I got to shake the president's hand.'' It is so nice to know that our youth treasures that moment as well. We entered the main area where the festivities fes·tiv·i·ty n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties 1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival. 2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration. 3. were being held to Hanukkah music played by a military band. We now were free to roam the halls of the White House. I was reminded of Andrew Jackson's inauguration, where he opened the White House up to the hordes Hordes may refer to:
see dairy herd. attending. I felt we were just following that tradition in a little nicer clothing and controlled behavior. We walked through room by room, soaking in every detail. We ended up in the room where guests were waiting in the reception line. The White House staff had done this before. You reach a point in the line where they asked our names and confirmed the information on a pre-printed card. That would be used to identify our photos for mailing. As we inched into the next room, President and Mrs. Bush were having their photo taken with other guests. We reached the head of the line, where an Army officer told us where to stand and what would happen. An Air Force officer then asked the correct pronunciation of our names and took us over to meet the Bushes. I had met this man four previous times. I had actually had chats with him. He was a governor then. Now he is president. I was flummoxed. A person never lost for words now was stumbling stumbling an abnormal gait in which the animal does not fully extend the limb, the plantar surface is not properly placed with respect to the ground surface at the time of impact so that the limb is likely to collapse and the animal to fall. to say a simple thank you for inviting us. I shook his hand and then moved on to greet Mrs. Bush. As I finished greeting Mrs. Bush, I heard my wife tell the president I was Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) (formerly the National Jewish Coalition), founded in 1985, is a political lobbying group in the United States that advocates Jewish support for the Republican Party. . The president looked over and said, ``You are doing a great job, really a great job.'' The most important person in the world was complimenting me. Now my head was swimming. I hope I didn't ruin the picture. We walked out and gathered ourselves. We were reminded of the comment Andy Card, the president's chief of staff, had made at a briefing we attended that day. He said, ``It is an awesome honor to enter the White House each and every day.'' It's nice to know even he does not grow jaded jad·ed adj. 1. Worn out; wearied: "My father's words had left me jaded and depressed" William Styron. 2. at the thought. We went to schmooze with the rest of the guests. We took photographs with friends. We took some photos in front of the White House Christmas tree Christmas tree Evergreen tree, usually decorated with lights and ornaments, to celebrate the Christmas season. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands as symbols of eternal life was common among the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. . Jews in front of the White House Christmas tree - I love this country. We soon left as the party began to wind down. Soaking up a moment that will be etched etch v. etched, etch·ing, etch·es v.tr. 1. a. To cut into the surface of (glass, for example) by the action of acid. b. in our minds forever, the glow on our faces matched the candles from the menorah. We will forever be grateful for this moment in time. I would just ask President Bush that if he is so generous as to invite us again next year, please have the White House chef call my wife for her latke recipe. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion