"AIR FORCE ONE"

“AIR FORCE ONE”

Claire and Montclair Stevens were on their way to LaGuardia Airport with their parents. This was the second trip this week to try and repair an airline glitch. Their parents had been planning a trip to Cairo, Egypt for the Thanksgiving holiday, and it was urgent that the details get worked out today. Mr. Stevens had curtailed the hairsplitting from the ticket agent quite well the last time, despite their fair exchange of words; however fair-mindedness might not be on his agenda today. If the agent were no more fair-spoken than last time, Claire feared they would be there for hours.

They pulled into the parking lanes within a hairsbreadth of the cars next to them. While Mrs. Stevens brushed her long, beautiful auburn hair with sweeping strokes and powdered her fair-skinned nose, an announcement came over the airwaves about the President of the United States landing at LaGuardia today. Claire’s mind raced with excitement!!!

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Claire and her younger brother watched all the people going by as the family waited in line. Shorthaired ladies with pushchairs carrying their babies, debonair looking young men and stairwells to die for, kept her and Montclair’s attention for awhile; but Claire’s mind kept going back to the wonder of seeing the President of the United States walk off his very own plane. It seemed unfair to her to have to endure this grown-up stuff. She wanted to see the president.

All at once an idea came to her! After several whisperings in Montclair’s ear, the pair began to giggle with excitement. The hair-raising scheme Claire had plotted, would take place as soon as both parents’ backs were turned. What fun they’d have! They continued to watch hairy faced men who looked like millionaires, slurp their coffee, while ladies wearing mohair sweaters graced with cairngorm sets of jewelry, daintily sip from their bottles of water. Then the moment came! Claire grabbed Montclair’s hand and off they ran!

****

Claire and Montclair had run as fast as fairies flew to try to find the landing spot. They had run upstairs and downstairs, around countless chairs, behind Airedale and Cairn terriers with their billionaire owners, but could not find the president. Montclair was becoming frightened and began to sob. The excitement was over… they were too far from their parents. Claire became despaired herself and fought back tears. How she wished a fairy godmother would come to their rescue!!!

A tall, wire-haired gentleman approached them and calmed Montclair. A lady with a trendy hairstyle and draped in a beautiful camel’s hair coat came to Claire’s aid; and within minutes, the security guard was running toward them with their parents right behind him. The family was so busy loving one another they almost missed the announcement about the president’s plane landing. Claire asked her father if they could see him. Quickly, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens picked the children up in their arms and rushed upstairs so Claire could see the President of the United States exit from Air Force One. Next time, she would just ask. Fair’s fair!