Donald Trump in Fort Worth, Texas earlier in the campaign.

It all started when my husband accidently left his cell phone at home. I didn’t even realize about the phone problem until I called him about thirty minutes after he left for work. His phone rang in the kitchen. I was so intent on asking him a question that I waited for him to answer even though the phone was ringing not 10 feet away from me. I was totally out of it, I guess. My mind was on Donald Trump.

Near downtown and great food, but not the place for the luncheon!

I had been listening to the NBC Today Show and they were announcing that Trump would be in Fort Worth yesterday morning and then leave for Austin in the afternoon. Wait a minute…why didn’t I know about this? This retirement is keeping me way too busy to even know all the current events. As any self-respecting former newspaper person, I had an instant need to be right there in the middle of the action.

Searching for Trump!

I do this whenever I hear a police siren or fire truck or ambulance. One time I heard on the news that Prince Charles (the real one) was going to land at DFW airport and be in Dallas for two days or so. I immediately took my young children to the airport to search for his airplane or any sign of Prince Charles. We tried, but the prince was just too illusive for us.

 Donald Trump’s Jet.

That is why I had to find Donald Trump. By the pictures shown on the news, I figured out that his personal jet was going to land at a smaller airport on the north side of Fort Worth. I recognized the buildings because the airport was not too far from my former elementary school. The news apparently made no mention of where he would go in Fort Worth…only that he was going to a fundraising luncheon. A luncheon by invitation only…we must not have been invited. Maybe it was because of the cost to attend…like in the thousands and thousands.

Downtown building…is this it?

The luncheon location is why I was calling my husband. I thought he might have heard where Trump would be having this very expensive luncheon. I finally realized that the phone was ringing in the next room. Took a while. Morning is not my best time! I called my husband on his office phone and offered to take his phone to him. Brilliant! I would have to make the 30-40 minute trip to downtown Fort Worth. I figured Trump would want to be somewhere very fancy and certainly would want to be downtown to have a luncheon with the big money people.

 

Is this the building?

As luck would have it, I found the place while driving around and around downtown. I was on a mission. I started seeing more and more police cars. And then suddenly…there was the location right in front of me. There were motorcycle police officers by the dozen and bicycle police officers…not any police officers on horseback (although they have those in Fort Worth). They were congregated along with groups of onlookers and television people from all of the DFW television stations. Plus, a helicopter was circling the area. The location was outside of a parking garage adjacent to one of the Fort Worth skyscrapers…not too tall, but tall enough for Trump, I suppose.

Poor parking!

Quickly, I invented my very own parking place by parking almost to the corner. My parking was just downright poor. How embarrassing. Even one of the ladies standing on the corner mentioned my parking ability. She probably would not have understood my desperation to be there for the news event. Talk about living in the past. I have had a totally different career for over 25 years since my newspaper days.

Television crews.

I was thinking that I would never recover from thinking about the news of the day when a TV reporter from the ABC affiliate approached me. “Would you mind being interviewed?”, she asked. Oh my goodness, I would have brushed my hair better and put on more makeup if I had known. Surely, I would have worn a cuter outfit. I said yes. I have no idea why I agreed. I also have no idea of what I said. I think that I smiled.

Where in downtown Fort Worth was Donald Trump?

 She asked if I had gone to the luncheon. Joke of the year…I am not ever spending that kind of money to have lunch with someone. Well… maybe Jon Bon Jovi or Adam Levine. I actually thought about the fact that Trump is the one with the money. Maybe he should buy all of us lunch who were standing there in the heat of the day with the wind blowing…just to see someone ride by in a long group of shiny black SUV vehicles.

Beautiful bridge in Fort Worth, but no Donald Trump here.

Actually, Donald Trump was riding in a silver Tahoe. He did not walk out onto the sidewalk, but entered the SUV inside the parking garage. All I could see was his golden hair, smile, and his hand waving from side to side out the window as the SUV left the parking garage. A lady was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was incredibly excited to see him and all of his entourage.

 

Sundance Square is so pretty! Where is Donald Trump?

I had seen other possible future presidents and current presidents before…Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton. There was something different about this possible president. I am still trying to explain it. The procession was dramatic and well orchestrated. Could this be the future leader of the United States…this man with the golden hair, the friendly wave, the wide smile, the confident look? Who knows?

I wished that I could  talk with him…have a regular conversation…look at him face to face. Perhaps then I would know that he could handle the massive job that he was seeking. Maybe that is why I went downtown. Maybe I hoped that somehow I would get the answer that I seek. At least, I tried. And I was on the news last night. I tried to watch it, but I was so concerned about what I might have said. And my TCU purple check shirt was on the news too. I should have dressed a bit better. Next time!