Carrying Lewinsky purse to Clinton reception; probably passive aggressive way to show I still hold a grudge. Should seek therapy, I know.
This was the first of a series of messages, or "tweets" that I sent out via Twitter today about our trip to San Francisco for a reception featuring a speech by Bill Clinton. The occasion was the launch of the Millennium Network a support and fundraising group for the Clinton Foundation. I am a long way off from ever being a live-blogger, but these little 140 character blips via instant messaging, I could handle.
Grace Davis wrote about the new breed of "Citizen Journalists" who used Twitter to let the world know of the earthquake in Mexico City this past week before the shaking had stopped, scooping the USGS and all the major news services. So, I thought I give this citizen journalist thing a whirl, and decided to twitter my way through Bill Clinton's speech. I sent this one out before we left. Frank had suggested that I carry the purse that I bought from Monica Lewinsky's handbag company, just as she was riding the coattails of infamy off into the sunset.
I have mixed feelings about Clinton, because I haven't completely forgiven him for looking squarely into the camera and saying, "I did not have sex with that woman" knowing full well that he did. I felt that he let the entire country down, and because he couldn't keep his pecker in his pants just a little longer, ruined his legacy and caused us 8 years of George Bush. So, yeah, I guess I'm still bitter about that. I have never met a President, so I thought the opportunity to see one live and in person was worth it and give a donation to charity was a worthwhile thing to do.
Hope Secret Service detail does not notice "made by monica" label on purse and kicks me out as potential rabble-rouser.
After leaving the house, I sort of had misgivings about bringing the purse, and thought maybe I should just let it go. Still, the inside joke between me, Frank, and my Twitter friends was just too funny for me to give up. Luckily, no one was checking bags to get into the event, which I was a little surprised by.
Inside event. No Bill yet. W/MomBlos Mary & Alix.
We arrived early, and walked into a nearly empty ballroon at the Fairmont. We got glasses of wine and found some cookies on a table, but no other food. We hadn't eaten dinner, so this was kind of a let-down.
Note to organizers of events that occur during dinner hour: cheese and crackers would be nice.
We ran into Mary Tsao and Alix Mayer, two mombloggers (MomBlos) that I know from the Silicon Valley Moms Blog and their own very popular blogs. We were invited to this event by another Silicon Valley momblogger, Sarah. It was nice to see familiar faces. I asked them where Sarah was, and they said she was off having her picture taken with Bill Clinton. She was one of the organizers of the event, so she was gettng a special audience with Bill.
Mayor McHottie just arrived.
We were chatting, when Alix or Mary noticed that Mayor Gavin Newsom was standing about 5 feet away from us. Our friend CityMama dubbed him "Mayor McHottie," so I had to let her know via Twitter.
Stealth paparazzi attempts by MomBlos fail.
Because we are geeky mombloggers, we were too embarassed to go and ask Mayor Newsom for a picture, so we pretended to take pictures of each other with him as the background. It seemed as though everytime we tried, some bald guy would walk up and block the shot. We thought that if Grace Davis were with us, she would have gone up and just asked him. We should have stickers made up that say, "WWGD?" for "What Would Grace Do?" Unfortunately, we gave up, so the best I could get was Mayor McHottie talking to a little old lady with his head down.
Miss Chinatown is here. Bummed we forgot tiaras.
Shortly after Mayor McHottie arrived, he was followed by another celebrity: Miss Chinatown. How did we know it was Miss Chinatown? The tiara and the sash that said "Miss Chinatown" were a dead giveaway. She was escorted by another lovely Asian woman in a silky purple evening dress (or possibly nightgown) and a tiara. She was not wearing a sash, so we don't know who she was, but she was very cute and several men enjoyed taking pictures with the two of them.
The room was starting to fill up, so we made our way toward the front, closer to the podium. We off to the side, near some music and sound equipment and three African-American DJs who starting playing party music.
Biz Markie is spinning tunes. Best known for Celebrity Fit Club.
One of the African-American guys picked up a microphone and announced that Biz Markie was the DJ in the house. I
immediately recognized him as a Celebrity Fit Club alumnus. I should
be embarrassed that I even know that, but I'm not. Mary and Alix had
never heard of him. I would have thought Biz Markie was the name of a discount shopping site on the internet, if not for the Celebrity Fit Club connection. My knowledge of rap music is limited to Grand Master Flash and Run DMC, because I'm that old.
SS cleared wine glasses from room. Bubba must be nigh.
After we had been standing around for about an hour and a half, the Secret Service detail ordered that all the wine glasses be moved out, away from the stage. We took that as a sign that Bill was on his way in, and that they were making sure that any projectiles that might be hurled in his direction were cleared out. The well-heeled, youthful crowd did not seem like the projectile-hurling types, but I guess if you're an ex-President with a wife who wants to be the next President, you just can't be too careful.
I want Biz to rap Hail 2 the Chief & tell Bill to hurry up.
Hail 2 the chief, cuz he's the chief & he needs hailing...
Another hour passed, and still no sign of any white-haired ex-Presidents. I would have settled for Carter or even Bush the First at this point. At least I had Twitter, my husband and my friends to amuse me. My legs were starting to hurt from standing up for so long.
Note to organizers of events that don't start on time: Chairs would be nice.
Still no Bill. MomBlos hungry & getting annoyed.
None of us had eaten dinner before we came, so we started talking about the fact that Bill must be out enjoying a steak or something, since he was taking sweet time getting out there.
Somebody is talking. Thanking peeps who organized.
Finally,
someone got up to the podium to speak, so the crowd seemed to suddenly
snap to focus. He thanked the organizers, thanked his wife and kids,
and introduced another guy who quoted Robert Kennedy, "Some men see
things as they are and ask, 'Why?' I dream things that never were,
and ask, 'Why not?'"
I have to say that I get annoyed everytime I hear people use this quote, because Robert Kennedy said it in a speech, but he was quoting George Bernard Shaw. Am I the only former English major in the world who knows this? I think not. Look it up in Wikipedia, people.
Rock star entrance. All I see is white hair. DAMN I'm short.
Suddenly, the crowd went completely nuts, and 1,000 flashbulbs went off as Clinton took the stage. I can't say that I was an eyewitness to this, since all I could see was a shock of white hair floating above the crowd. Frank, who is 6'4", could see it all well and was taking picture with his cameraphone.
Bill talking about people giving on internet. Large #, small amounts. Changes the world.
The fundraiser was for the Clinton Foundation, which has been working on worldwide issues related to poverty, the AIDS epidemic, and other health crises. He started out by saying that we lived in point in history in which people have the opportunity to band together in large numbers via the internet and have an impact all over the world.
Sez if enough people agree w/you, change will happen.
Bill pointed out that if you get
enough people who agree with you to do something, the impact can change
the world. Many people think that what they have is too small to have
much impact, but large numbers of people giving small amounts does make
a difference.
He talked about the impact of the internet, and told the story of how every year, he has to go to the New York State Fair. He said, "Having a husband from Arkansas doesn't usually help the Senator from New York, but at the State Fair, at least I know what the front end of a horse looks like, so I'm useful there." He told the story of how he was at the State Fair after Hurricane Katrina hit, and a woman who was working in one of the booths came up to him and handed him $50. She told him, "I'm sorry to give you cash, but I haven't had time to go online and make the donation to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund." He thought it was amazing that a woman who worked at the State Fair would even think to go online to make a donation. At this point, the folksy charm had the crowd eating it up with a spoon. Pretty much anyone there would have given him a kidney if he'd asked for it and said it was for orphans in Afghanistan.
Bill sez working on AIDS, half million kids died last year due to lack of AIDS meds.
One of the things that the Clinton Foundation is working on is the
AIDS crisis in Africa. They have negotiated with pharmaceuticals that
produce retroviral medication to reduce their prices in Africa, allowing relief agencies to get medication to children with HIV and AIDS. Half a million
children have died from AIDS in Africa, children whose lives would have
been saved by access to medicine.
Bill: highly packed, highly diverse room is metaphor for world.
Bill looked out over the audience and said, "Look around you...Look at this young, diverse group of people densely packed in here. This room is a metaphor for the world, and you are the people who will change it, not old guys like me." He said that 30 years ago, there would not have been as many women in the room, (or African-Americans or Asian-Americans for that matter) it would have been a room full of men who looked like him. I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed by the diversity of the crowd. That and how pretty they were. These were some pretty, pretty Bill Clinton fans. Even the men were pretty.
Bill is shaking hands. People rush stage. SS freaking out. Like a rock star.
After stepping off the stage, he shook hands with the people in the
first row, and people started to crowd towards him. We inched up
closer, but didn't get far enough to shake his hand. I thought guarding him must
be a Secret Service agent's nightmare. He seemed like he genuinely
wanted to reach out and touch people, shake their hands, look them in
the eye and acknowledge their presence. The Secret Service agents formed a phalanx around and next to him, and they were all business.
Short speech, but excellent message of empowerment. Small things make a difference globally.
Overall, I enjoyed the experience, despite the waiting and lack of food. I think the message is one we need to hear and hear often...that every individual can contribute something to making the world a better place, no matter how small or insignificant the contribution may seem. Maybe Twitter will help spread the message a little further, one tweet at a time.
I forgive you, Bill. But I'm keeping the purse.
Photo credits: Frank and me.
