How was I to know that there was anything at all near our house that he'd need/want to visit?
The entire story in extended...
My wife and I live in a little dead-end neighborhood. We were on our way out to do some errands, and as we pulled up to the cross-street that's the only way out of our neighborhood, the road was oddly empty, and a motorcycle cop was standing in the intersection.
Though the light was red, he looked both ways, then waved us to the left. I pointed ahead (the way I wanted to go), and he waved us through.
I had my windows open (we've been avoiding running the AC to save on gas -- don't know how much that matters), so I asked as we slowly drove by "What's up?" "VIP," he said.
"Bush's wife?" I said to my wife. We have some friends that live just down the street from a friend of hers, and their street is often shut down when she comes into town for a visit.
"Cheney," she said. She'd mentioned that he was going to be in town to visit the New Orleans evacuees.
We decided to turn around and 'go to the nursery' that was at the corner, right on the street that was blocked off.
We waited, discussing Dr. Marble with two of the employees and a couple other customers that came by. We wished that we'd've known and had a chance to make signs.
It was the perfect spot. People out walking started milling around, maybe as many as a dozen within our sight up and down the couple blocks we could see.
There were two other motorcycle officers we could see, and one of them shooed some pedestrians off the sidewalk and into the parking lot.
The officer that we'd talked to was directing cars that came to the light into our neighborhood. I realized he had no clue he was sending them into a dead-end neighborhood that would only put them back out on the road they'd blocked off.
Then, the line of two black limos, a black SUV and a dark red SUV sped by. Surrounded by motorcycle cops.
I didn't see but one face in one of the SUVs.
But my wife saw him.
It was only afterward that I remember Turn Your Back on Bush.
We have a great opportunity now, folks. These people are going to be zipping by places like this, places where they aren't normally. Places where we can just walk out of our homes and see them go by.
I wish I'd've considered this possibility. Wish I'd've had a whole stack of signs to run home, pull out of my closet, and hand out.
I have no idea if it's worth it or not. No idea if anyone else would want to make things ahead of time and have them on hand.
I do wish that, in this little stretch of town, rather than seeing a few people lining the streets he had seen a scattering of withering criticism.
As it was, I just glared at the cars as they drove by.
It was only afterward, when normal traffic resumed, that the whole thing, the empty road, scattered people standing around waiting, the entourage, seemed deeply creepy.