Visiting the White House:

I was 11 years old the last time I toured the White House. I don't remember much of it, but I distinctly remember being on a tour. So I, like several of my fellow visitors, was surprised to walk through the security checks and metal detectors and find myself in the president's house without an escort. The Secret Service agent said that the tours are now self-guided, a change which allows more people to go through each day (this makes sense) and improves security (this does not make sense).

To compensate for the lack of narration, the walls of the first couple of rooms are covered in pictures. The first room is all George (Bush, not Washington) and the enclosed walkway has pictures of various presidents grouped by activity. One frame featured Presidents and Their Pets, mostly dogs. The one noticeable exception was Grace Coolidge and Rebecca the Racoon at the White House Easter egg hunt. Rebecca is on a stout chain and appears to be positioning herself to gnaw on Grace's face.

In the next frame, presidents are pictured with various celebrities and honorees. The Carters alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov. . . and President Bush is pictured with a group of Nascar drivers. I tried not to read too much into that.

Just as I was wondering whether racecar drivers were the most significant cultural guests in this administration's White House, a big wind blew up on the South Lawn, where a few dozen people were gathered. Marine One, the presidental helicopter, landed and President Bush got on. He turned on the top step and waved to us (or perhaps to the people on the lawn who were actually invited to be there, but whatever).

I have to admit that I was a little starstruck. I'm not a big fan of W's politics, but I've never seen a president in person before. It was very cool. (Don't worry Grandmother, I haven't been converted. . . although that "W: The President" bumper sticker does look nice on my car.)