ADVENTURES OF AN ORDINARY HOUSEWIFE

As it turns out, we did not go to Grenada, but as a consolation prize, we were invited to have lunch at The White House with Studibert. We ate down in the basement of The White House, and I ordered from the menu (which we were allowed to keep as a souvenir). Studibert told us that the Philippine chefs were descendents from the original chefs that came to work here back in some distant past. We ate our meal and listened as Studibert made some phone calls to important people in Utah, and then we went home with menu in hand, delicious food in our bellies, and bragging rights as one of the few who have eaten lunch at The White House.

Soon it seemed, that every time Studibert came into town, he was vocalizing more and more about how people were encouraging him to run for Governor of Utah, and that he was tiring of the rigors of The White House. Fred thought that would be wonderful, because he would then be a close, personal friend of The Governor. I was happy for Studibert. I still didn’t know who he really was, or that this was just one of his many self-aggrandizement stories.

In the meantime, there was a Presidential Campaign. Reagan had served his 2 terms, and although I believe the nation would have voted to change the term-limits of a President for him, Ronald Reagan became the lame-duck President, and his Vice-President, George Bush (#41, as I like to refer to him) ran for President against George Dukakis.

While #41’s Presidential Campaign was getting under way, Studibert (as one of Bush’s campaign managers) would continue to breeze in and out of Salt Lake City, and I’d get to hear all the stories coming out of D.C. (according to Studibert). For instance, Nancy Reagan wrote a book, "My Turn," and Studibert noted to Fred and I on one of his trips to town, that her remarks about him were unkind at best. Studibert couldn’t understand why she would do this, but then countered her good name for bad with a story about her White House behavior that few would be privy to:

One of her grandson’s had left a favorite toy at the residence when on a visit there some time ago. Mrs. Reagan had found the toy in a closet just before the child’s birthday, so she wrapped it up and mailed it to him as a birthday present.

Studibert editorialized at how cheap and thoughtless this was. I secretly chuckled, because my boys and I liked to go into Fred’s closet and wrap up his favorite shirts and put them under the Christmas tree for his presents (he never bought any of the boys or me presents – ever – so he was lucky to get anything at all -- and it was always something he liked).

I didn’t look at the Nancy Reagan story the same way Studibert did. I didn’t imagine Nancy Reagan as being cheap at all, but as supplying a wonderful surprise to a grandchild who had been mourning the loss of a beloved toy. I was convinced that Mrs. Reagan had delighted in the fact that she was a catalyst for his continued happiness and joy – not that she could save a few bucks on a birthday present, as Studibert would have us believe.

This was all so much gossip and up until now, Studibert’s insertion into my life provided some interesting anecdotes. But as Studibert assumed his new role in the new White House, my world and the world at large begin to collide!