George W Bush

Daily writing prompt
Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met?
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Regarding the daily prompt “Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met?”, that is former President George W Bush. I met him during a book signing at the local Barnes & Noble here in Dallas. I bought four copies of his book “Decision Points” and he signed two of them. I should say that due to the long line, he only signed two books for all of us.

I’ve also met some other well-known politicians including Senator Ted Cruz, I’ve been in a meeting with Colin Allred, and I’ve been in meetings with a few other congressmen (Pete Sessions, Sheila Jackson Lee, and met Louie Gohmert). That was because of my volunteer work for the citizens climate lobby. I should add citizens climate lobby is bipartisan and talks to everybody. I spent a week in Yellowstone with Ross Perot’s son-in-law Patrick McGee. He is sort of semi-famous. That was related to my kid’s school, St. Marks School of Texas.

Front cover of the book Decision Points
Back cover of the book Decision Points

In the photo below Ted Cruz is standing immediately to the right of the American flag and I am standing immediately to the left of it. My daughter and wife are also in the photo (to the left of me).

Citizens Climate Lobby and coffee with Senator Ted Cruz

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

28 thoughts on “George W Bush”

  1. Wow, that’s amazing, Thomas. I think the most famous person I’ve spoken with is Sidney Poitier. He was an award recipient at the University in the 1990s, and I had the pleasure of chatting with him in private. I was deeply impressed by his kindness and humility. I have no photos to share, because those taken belong to the University. 😊

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    1. Well it was just saying hello, him signing two of my books and saying thank you for coming, and me saying thank you. It was 30 seconds. Then Ted Cruz, that was just shaking hands and standing next to each other in the photo. You had a real chat with Sidney Poitier. I should say I had a real chat with Colin Allred, Ted Cruz opponent, but I think Sidney Poitier is more famous.

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    1. Yes that’s true. I’ve met several politicians as a volunteer for Citizens Climate Lobby. The one who impressed me the most in person was Colin Allred. He was very honest, explained to us what was going on in politics and asked good questions. Six months after our meeting I met him the hallway in a congresional building as he was running down the hallway to go and vote. He stopped and said hello and remembered my name.

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  3. It’s nice to say you’ve met the president and the senator, Thomas. There’s a congresswoman who is not famous but she is still in congress. She was our school board member, then went on to be the city council and major, and continued to move on to be a congressperson. I helped with her campaign. The more I know about politics, the more I dislike it.

    I saw your link for all the responses. I like this format better than what they had before.

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    1. Unfortunately, politics has gotten increasingly ugly and divisive. I find it interesting that we in CCL (Citizens Climate Lobby) are able to talk to both sides even though they sometimes cannot talk to each other. We have even been asked to speak to the other side on their behalf. But there is a lot grand standing and pretending now a day and congress has never been more dysfunctional. It is quite interesting that you got to know a congress woman so well. I have to admit I discovered the Daily Writing Prompt thingy just a few weeks ago.

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  5. Nice you for to meet the ex-president and current senator, Thomas 🙂 The only famous person I’ve met is Mick Fleetwood from Fleetwood Mac at his restaurant in Maui before it burned down.

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  6. Hmm, probably the most famous person I actually met was Yvonne Navarro, at the 1997 World Horror Convention, when I somehow introduced her to a fellow writer I had met there. Mind you, I didn’t actually know Yvonne, and I never talk to people I don’t know (which is part of why I stopped going to conventions), so I’m not sure how I managed to do that. Anyway he ended up working on a book with her I think …

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  7. Exactly, Thomas! Many politicians do whatever necessary to keep their positions. What they do or what they go along with may not be for the best interest of the country or people. It’s sad. I like what your CCL is doing. Just try your best.

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  8. Interesting to hear how you got to meet George W. Bush and Ted Cruz. I think the most famous Texas politician I’ve encountered was Julian Castro while he was mayor of San Antonio. I didn’t exactly meet him, but he was giving a speech in front of the Alamo when I visited as a tourist in 2013. At the national level, I attended a speech given by Bill Clinton at New Mexico State University while he was president.

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    1. That is interesting. Attending a speech by a sitting President is pretty cool. Al Gore was supposed to visit our robotics lab at Case Western Reserve University in 1993, but he never came. George Bush was an easy one. He lives in north Dallas in roughly the same area where I live and he had a book signing event at the local Barnes and Noble. Everyone was welcome and there were hundreds of people there. It was lots of security and I had to wait a couple of hours but that’s all it took.

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  11. How cool that you have rubbed shoulders with some great minds of U.S. politics Thomas. George W was nowhere near as dumb as some people have claimed, I think a lot of that perception came down to his rootsy personality and casual diction. Seriously though, how long would it have taken for him to add another two signatures to the remaining two books?

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    1. The George W Bush encounter was easy. Anyone was welcome and it took place in our neighborhood, which is where he still lives. I think you are right. He was no dummy. About the book signing. That was the rule his team and Barnes & Noble had set up. Otherwise some people might have brought a ton of books to sign and the line was long. It was very well organized. The line stretched with hundreds of people outside the entrance, and the entrance had security like at the airport. Immediately inside the store was piles of books and you just picked up the amount you wanted and put in a bag. Then you stood in line for a bit more and you walked inside like a little cabin/shack that they built inside the store and there sat George W Bush and signed books. They let in one person at a time. He had a few security people on each side.

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