What The Hell Is An Egg Roll Anyway?
by Steve West on April 14, 2009
Outside of a chinese restaurant I had never encountered an Easter egg roll before. We managed to become the recipients of four tickets to this year's White House Easter Egg Roll. We were not there to witness the President's participation as we were in the last of three groups and he presented himself to the first. After a long (little over an hour and a half) shuffle through a roped cattle chute maze that ended at a series of metal detectors, we entered the grounds of the south lawn of the White House. There were many activities besides the egg roll. Costumed characters from PBS and a few other assorted animated characters such as Bugs Bunny and a Smurf roamed about. They were very kind to the small children. Volunteers whisked us about pointing out the various activities and we got some good photos with the White House as a backdrop. The highlight for me (aside from my children's delight) was seeing and listening to a concert by Ziggy Marley.
I'm glad I did this event once because it will be a once in a lifetime thing as I never want to do it again. It was way too exhausting to be worth a second time. Leaving my house at 12:30, on the train at 1:00, train ride plus walking to White House to arrive by 2:00, metal detector cattle chute and mob at entrance to gain access by 3:30, and it was over at 5:00. Each ticket was for a two hour stay and was done in three large groups. Our tickets allowed entry from 3:00 to 5:00. The weather cooperated for the most part as it finally let loose a cold rain right after we left. Cool but not cold for the most part. The kids had a great time and Brenda and I were able to see things vicariously through their eyes. And then there was Ziggy... Awesome.
Two Replies to What The Hell Is An Egg Roll Anyway?
Jackie Mason | April 16, 2009
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Web Junkie
Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »
Strike Two
Brenda and I attended a school meeting today to discuss the battery of assessments needed to properly develop an education plan for Olivia. After hearing the assessments from the primary teacher, occupational therapist, speech therapist and physical therapist, we got to the part that was a stunner to say the least - the school psychologist. After giving her report which mimicked the other reports to a large degree, she informed us that she felt it was time to officially put it in the record that Olivia was intellectually disabled. Go »The Day In Pictures
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Or "How Ronald McDonald Kicked My Ass" About ten years ago, shortly before Brenda and I got married, we attended a Halloween party at a friend's house. The primary reason to get together was obviously to dress up like we did when we were little but secondarily to get drunk as a sailor on shore leave. The standard "funny name" cocktails were offered like "sex on the beach" and "southern screw" and "raw sewage". Go »Differences That Make All The Difference
Recent discussion with Brenda: me: There's such a huge difference between how I interact with people at work and how I interact with the people in my home. Brenda: How so? me: At work, I spend all day talking about banking practices and domestic and international finance. Go »
Scott Hardie | April 15, 2009
As tiring as that must have been, it still sounds like a pretty fun day and something you can remind the kids of when they get older. I was little then, but I still remember our three-room tour of the Reagan White House when my father and a number of other government employees were invited for a holiday tour with their families. I've heard that civilians are no longer allowed inside the building at all for security reasons, which is sad if it's true.