In Which the First Lady Speaks

I went to the National Book Festival a couple weekends ago. It was, of course, incredibly cool to be surrounded by 130,000 other book-lovers. I walked around, collected bookmarks and posters and tote bags. But really I went because Laura Bush, the former first lady, was speaking. I had to wait in line to have my bags searched by the Secret Service before I could enter the tent. It was just like on tv --- the guys in black suits, with earpieces in their ears, constantly eyeing the crowd for threats. I was almost as entertained watching them as hearing Mrs. Bush speak. She was very good. She read an excerpt from her autobiography, and then answered a couple questions from the audience. She seems like a very gracious lady, and I admire all she has done for literacy efforts in this country. It was a very memorable event!