Sunday, May 11, 2008

Just another day in the life of a small town wine merchant!

So it's a really busy Mother's Day and Sarah and I are working the store by ourselves (all the other BELLA staff are Moms and they have the day off!)

We're making coffees, building gift baskets, wrapping flowers, recommending wines and basically multi-tasking like women can
- and as Anne Taintor says...
"and to think- I'm only using 1/10th of my brain."

Then suddenly, I turn around to help a new customer at the counter and realize that it's former President Bill Clinton!

Yeah sure, you betcha,
just another day in the life of a small town wine merchant!


Sarah of course, was cool as a cucumber; she shook his hand and very politely said something like "It's nice to meet you." Me on the other hand, acted a bit star struck and said something far less clever. I think it was something like "Can I trade you a cup of coffee for a photo?"
Cool Bev, real cool. Here's where I should point out that Sarah was probably 7 when I first voted for Bill Clinton - and that's the excuse I'm sticking with.

The former President was visiting Baker City today to speak with the community about Hillary Clinton's campaign for the presidency. There were well over 500 people at the county courthouse and his speech was captivating - humorous, touching and with lots of nitty gritty details about how Hillary proposes to implement the CHANGE that so many of us desire to see.

It was a great afternoon, and a real thrill to shake the hand of a former US President. While we all have opinions and issues that set us apart and challenge us to work together, his leadership and service illustrates what democracy is all about in my mind. While I'll try not to over-politic here, I'll just say that in my opinion, a great woman president seems like a smart decision and a completely American thing to do!

Good luck Hillary!

(Many thanks once more to Guido Rachiele! Just think of what I would have missed today if you hadn't challenged me to have BELLA open 7 days a week!)


4 comments:

Andi (RrlScrapGal) said...

Totally amazing! I would not have believed you if we hadn't of seen him in the flesh ourselves!

We were in town doing our Mother's Day tradition when we saw the barricaded streets by the courthouse! We drove up and the officer said 'President Clinton is speaking'! We parked it, and we all got to see a real live President! Monumental for our little family. The kids were so impressed - truthfully, we all were!

What an awesome day - even though my politics are far from Bill & Hilary - awesome just the same.

ps. How is it that all the heavy hitters end up at BELLA? You do need a wall of fame!

BELLA Grand Cru said...

hey there Andi-
It was good to see you at the Courthouse as well - what a great experience for Baker City!
As for why EVERYONE ends up at BELLA,
the answer is simple....
We Are OPEN!

mpwynn said...

What a historic day for Baker City to have a two-term President of the United States speak from the front steps of the Courthouse! And, what fun for Bella to welcome him as he popped in to say hello, chat and show his support for small business! Looks like the word is officially out that Bella is THE PLACE for neighbors and friends, politicians too, to stop and enjoy each other's comany. I know I enjoy Bella whenever I visit my hometown. Just sorry I couldn't make it over to personally see President Bill Clinton add to the notes of Baker's wonderful history.

Rev. Casey said...

Your vote counts big time in this Oregon election, so get those ballots mailed now! Hillary is counting on the numbers as well as the wins, and it's not over; believe it!
http://washingtondemocrat.blogspot.com/