THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
Here I am, it' 5 O'clock on the dot, and I can't believe I made it. The storm lets up the moment I arrive at the Clinton's house. This must be a good sign. That storm was terrible, I could barely drive. Trees down, cars crashed or pulled off on the side of the road, a real mess. I still can't believe I drove all the way from Kentucky and into the "big city" of Washington D.C. all by myself, never mind finding my way here today in this nasty storm.
I'm a small town girl and big city driving scares me to death. Though I've been on the road for months in the Hillcar, I seem to always find a friend to accompany me. Not this time.
Getting here has been worth the hassle though. Look where I am! I am invited to bring the Hillcar to a party at the Clinton's house. It's Dorothy Rodham's 89th birthday and the whole family will be celebrating. How lucky am I!
But where is Tony? Why isn't he answering his phone? Maybe he's stuck in the storm. I guess I'll just sit in my car and wait.
And wait...
Tony Rodham and I
"Excuse me Miss, would you mind stepping out of your car?"
It's the secret service. Two guys in black suits carrying clip boards. Hillary's secret service know me on the campaign trail, but apparently these guys stayed in D.C.
'Would you mind telling us what you are doing here?"
"I was invited to bring my car here for Dorothy Rodham's birthday party. Tony Rodham invited me".
"Who's that?" They ask. You've got to be kidding. Your protecting the Clinton family and you don't know them by name?
"Tony is Hillary's brother. He asked me to be here at 5 O'clock to show Hillary the car. He told me to call him as soon as I get here, but he's not answering his phone. I just spoke with him a couple of hours ago."
"We're going to have to confirm this with him", they say. "We will be back in just a minute".
The sky turns black and explodes with rain. I get back into the car and wait some more.
I had such a wonderful time the other night with the Rodham family. They are warm, fun and down to earth. We laughed until the wee hours as Tony told my friends and I story after story about growing up with Hillary. Everyone really enjoyed the Hillcar, and Tony thought that his sister would get a kick out of seeing it up close too. In the past, she had sent her personal photographer to the car. Due to crowds and safety issues, she had never been able to it check personally.
"It's my mom's birthday", Tony explained, "But I'd like to give Hillary a present. After all she's been through, she needs a good laugh".
The Rodham kids with the Hillcar.
There's a rapping on my window, and I see the men are back. I roll down my window and immediately get soaked.
"Mr. Rodham says he doesn't know you and did not invite you here. We need to see your I.D., and ask you some questions".
He begins his litany of questions as we all get soaked.
"Why don't you fellows get in the car and out of the rain?" I offer. I don't feel like a have much choice in the matter, so we might as well stay dry.
The interrogation begins. The man in the front seat pulls out a clipboard and begins filling out forms as thick as a novel. Page after page of insulting questions are asked.
"Do you want to kill anybody?" "Do you have a history of mental illness?" "Do you have any weapons in the car?" "Do you hear voices in your head telling you to do things?" These fun questions and a whole lot more!
"Look guys, I was asked to come here today by Tony. I can see this isn't exactly working out, so I'd just as soon be doing something other than this. If it's alright with you, I'd like to be going now".
The man continues to fill out forms. "Very organized", "neat" I see him write. Well, that's good I guess.
The guy in the back seat seems thoroughly entertained as well.
"Would you rather we call the police?" he man in the passenger seat asks. Hmmmm.... looks like I'll be staying a while longer.
"Please get out of the car and open your trunk".
Standing out in the rain as the secret servicemen search through 50 Hillary masks and 50 red blazers in the trunk of my car, party-goers walk by and stare.
"This sucks", I think. I've been set up.
After about an hour of humiliating search and interrogation, the boys in black finally admit they never actually spoke with Tony at all. They say they got this message 3rd hand. Once again they head back into Hillary's house, this time to actually talk with Tony.
The only photo I took of Hillary's house.
Upon returning this time their story has changed a little bit, but the damage has already been done.
"Mr. Rodham admits he invited you here today, but says that Hillary is too busy to come outside. We are sorry, but we have to ask you to leave".
I drive away in the pouring rain. Hillary has just lost. I'm exhausted. I'm broke. I've been throughly humiliated. Is this the end of my story? Two years of intense work for this?
I find myself feeling relieved that it's raining so hard.
People always check out the colorful Hillary Clinton car as it passes by and I'm hoping that the rain hides my tears.
I found out later that Hillary spent this whole day on the phone with the D.N.C. They were trying to force her to concede.
I guess I wasn't the only one having a bad day.
