Arrival Ceremony on The White House Lawn

So on December 12, 1987. my husband and I flew off to attend that historic event, The Arrival ceremony of Mikhail Gorbachev on Reagan’s White House lawn, and to run head-on into my destiny. We had to fly all night in order to attend because there were no hotel rooms available in the area. We flew from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles; then from L.A. to Cincinnati; then from Cincinnati to Atlanta and finally connected to the flight into Washington National Airport. Throughout the flight, I could feel how special this was. Here we were two very ordinary people flying off to witness and be a part of a very extraordinary event. But what made it even more extraordinary was the fact that we could participate in this, as though we were the elite of D.C.; as though we had been invited because of our political bearing, or influence -- when indeed, we were just the average Mr. and Mrs. Married America.

All of our flights connected properly, and we even landed in D.C. on time, 8:30AM. We caught a cab to the White House Annex building where we were to meet up with Studibert. Now anyone looking at this maneuver would only see Studibert doing some fantastic favor for a fellow Utahn to repay favors done for him. But the truth is, that Studibert liked to control situations to make the most out of an opportunity to show what a decent and regular guy he was (which is exactly what he was not). I know I was completely taken in by the fact that he would use the awesome power of his office on our behalf. It never occurred to me that this was very bizarre, and only self-serving.

The cabby was thrilled for our good fortune, and got us right to the White House Annex in a timely manner. I had never met Studibert before this day. I had heard him referred to by my husband as “The White House Guy,” and probably had heard his name mentioned a few times, but really had no idea what he looked like, or what he was all about. When we entered the Annex, there was a throng of people giving their names to officials behind desks in order to obtain entrance onto the lawn for the Arrival Ceremony. My Husband (Fred) was looking around anxiously, as he was instructed not to give his name to anyone, but to look for Studibert. Soon he was able to spot Studibert behind all the desks of Security Officials.