WITNESS TO A 21ST CENTURY HISTORICAL EVENT!

While trying to finish up some last minute details as the final month of school opened, Biz received a phone call from Hillary Clinton's advance team wanting to know if President Bill Clinton could make a campaign stop at Plymouth High School. As Biz's principal was in meetings most of that day, he delegated that she should be the event coordinator for the former President's visit. For the next two days, I saw very little of Biz, as she spent hours with Hillary's advance team, members of the Secret Service, and our community's emergency services personnel to plan this event.

Last Saturday, after waiting for nearly three hours, more than a thousand people turned out to hear what President Clinton had to say. I, of course, wanted to be a witness to this one-time only event, as I'm sure President Clinton and I would never again cross paths.

I stood at the far edge of the crowd, thinking I was at the spot where President Clinton would exit once he left the stage after shaking many hands. Instead, President Clinton walked all the way over to where I stood, and shook my hand first! I was so caught off guard, I was speechless. I recovered quickly, and encouraged the former President to shake the hands of a couple of my students standing nearby, which he gladly did. He then proceeded to move along the wall of people that you see in the picture, shaking hands and greeting well-wishers.

All of my fellow colleagues at the school have been jabbing me of late, kidding that I, as a Republican, was the first listener and potential voter to shake the visiting former President's hand.

The rest is, as they say, history. Hillary went on to win Indiana in Tuesday's primary, but lost to Obama in North Carolina. I don't care; I got to shake a former President's hand, even if I never voted for the guy.