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Living Legend Laura Bush Chats with 1,000+ and Brings W to Benefit M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

The 1,000+ who attended A Conversation with a Living Legend luncheon benefiting M.D. Anderson Cancer Center today at the Anatole made their mamas proud. No matter what happened, they handled it with finesse. The first test was taking their seats when told to. They did immediately.

The next came in the form of a surprise when Living Legend/former First Lady Laura Bush entered the ballroom escorted by none other than her live-in former president/always husband George W. The crowd immediately sprang to their feet applauding.

The third test was the singing of the national anthem. No one had to tell this very civilized crowd what to do. It was a sea of people standing with right hands over their hearts.

The final test came when the former president introduced his wife. Just his taking the podium created another flood of standing applause. Because W is known for being very considerate of timelines, he knew that the show could not be delayed by this outpouring. With a firm voice, he said, “Sit.” Just like a room full of Barneys and Miss Beazleys, they all sat. And, boy, were they rewarded!

GWB admitted that he was glad to “get out of the house. It sure beats taking naps on the couch and playing shuffleboard.”

Without a teleprompter in sight, he continued to say that when he and Laura returned to Dallas, they were especially touched by all the welcome home signs in area yards, “but we did get a little sign envy when we saw all the Allie Beth Allman signs in yards.” Then he introduced the “love of my life.”

Now for some highlights from the conversation between Laura and her interviewer/friend Cokie Roberts, who just happens to be an author and leading expert on First Ladies:

The backdrop for the stage was a rendition of the White House’s Green Room, which Laura refurbished in the summer of 2007.

• Cokie directed one of her first comments to Bush daughter Jenna Hager, who was in the audience, on her new job reporting for NBC’s Today Show. “Congratulations on starting a career in a dying business,” she said.
• Laura caught the guests up on her in-laws “George” and “Bar”, who had taped a congratulatory message played earlier. Yes, Papa/former president George H.W. Bush did another parachute jump on his 85^th birthday, much to Bar’s chagrin.
• Earlier this year, Bush Matriarch Bar had her heart valve replaced with a pig valve. “Bar’s been craving corn ever since then,” said Laura. Laughter from the crowd. “I stole that joke from President Bush.”
• One of Laura’s projects has been helping the women of Afghanistan in battling breast cancer. She graciously gave M.D. Anderson the credit for vigorously and successfully working in a society in which “80 percent of the women diagnosed die from breast cancer, and they seem to develop it earlier than most women.”
• Sen. Ted Kennedy’s recent death was especially poignant, since Laura was in his office when 9/11 occurred. She attributed Kennedy’s ability to handle the numerous tragedies in his life to knowing how to deal with the immediate situation: “He kept a continuous stream of small talk.”
• The National Book Festival that Laura launched on the National Mall in Washington just days before 9/11 now has an attendance of more than 100,000 people.
• It startled many when the “Prim Mrs. Bush” arrived in the White House briefing room (a first for a First Lady) and called for the overthrow of the Burmese government.
• In 1968, when Laura was a co-ed at SMU and dresses and loafers were the rule of the day, she and a girlfriend heard that the hippies hung out at Lee Park. So the gals put on jeans and moseyed on over to the park to discover nary a hippy anywhere. Instead, passerbys thought that the future First Lady and her pal were hippies.
• Laura’s memoir is scheduled to come out next May.
• Yes, the Bushes are going to the Cowboys game against the Giants Sunday.  
• With Gene Jones just a table or two away, Laura laughed that Cowboys Stadium is huge. “It makes our stadium [the Ballpark at Arlington] look like Little League.”

Prior to the luncheon, Laura met individually with members of the press and privately with children like Marit Peterson, who was diagnosed with melanoma when she was 18 months old. But more about that in a later post.

Must take a break. The keyboard is worn out from finger-pounding. More about the action among the guests and the total amount of $$ raised in the next post. Whew!