I thought I had penned this before but I can't find it so I will recreate it to the best of my recollection.
When my daughter was in first grade, we lived in Southwest Arkansas and it was the year the Arkansas quarter came out. There was a big dedication service at Crater of Diamonds State Park. We had several family members that came down for the ceremony and I took Moriah out of school for a little history in the making and diamond digging fun!
I have this thing about getting my picture made with governors. I have a picture of me with Bill Clinton (several times), Jim Guy Tucker, and Mike Huckabee. While each picture was not that big of a deal to the governor, I have a story that made it special to me. I corrected Bill Clinton for mispronouncing my name once and told him it was OK to wash his hands before he shook mine another time when he sneezed right before my turn to pose with him. Jim Guy Tucker was mauled by reporters in Washington DC immediately following my picture with him to discuss the pardoning of some criminals in Arkansas by the acting governor while Jim Guy was attending Bill Clinton's inauguration. The photo op with Mike Huckabee was fairly uneventful with the exception of John and I had taken an awesome group of young ladies to the state capitol to page for our local senator and representative. So, I guess I was due for an over the top Gubernatorial Photo!
At the Quarter Dedication, Governor Mike Huckabee was one of many speakers. Since I had already had my picture made with him, I really didn't have an interest in that. But, I thought I might try to force this tradition upon my 6 year old daughter. There were people crowding around him like he was some sort of celebrity and he had an entourage of security. Oh please!!!!!
I took Moriah up there in the midst of the crowd. I told her that I couldn't get to him with all of the people. I said, "You can get up there. Just walk in between these guys' legs, tug on his pants leg, and tell him you want your picture made with him and then they will let me through with the camera to get the picture!"
We had the perfect plan! She weaved her little body through men in black suits and reached the intended destination. Step 1 complete! She tugged on his pant leg. STEP 2!!!!! He looked down at her and with a smile on his face he knelt down and asked her if she had a question for him. YES! SUCCESS!!!! Or, so I thought.....
Much to my horror this is where the plan went awry. Not really but it brought about embarrassment that I was not prepared for at the moment. My precious baby girl looked him right in the face. Her eyes grew larger than life and shone blue for the whole world to see. She turned to look at me as I stood there holding my camera ready to capture the moment for all posterity. The air grew silent and everyone in this mob of people seemed focused on this little girl who had fought through the forest of persons more than twice her size to get to the governor. With a tone of fear in her little voice she screamed, "I DON'T WANT MY PICTURE MADE WITH HIM!!!!!!!!!"
