Friday, February 09, 2007

The Secret Service & Me

In 1984, while campaigning for vice president, Geraldine Ferraro came to Stockton, California, where I was living at the time.

My business partner, Alison Hudson, and I were out and about that day and stopped in at City Hall for some reason. While there, I needed to use the women's room and so left Alison in the hall. There was no one else in there when I went in. But, as I was coming out of the stall, with my skirt still up so I could pull my blouse down neatly, there were Ms. Ferraro and four male secret service agents. We smiled, she said "Sorry" and I said, "That's perfectly alright" and I left.

Outside were a passle of news folks with cameras and Alison. As soon as the camera people saw that I wasn't Geraldine, they turned off their cameras. As Alison and I walked out of the building, she said, "What did you say?"
"What?"
"What did you say? You always have a ready quip, what did you say?"
"I was too amazed to find four men there while I was showing off my slip to think of anything to say!"

About half an hour later I realized what I wished I'd said. "They passed the ERA without telling me and now we do have unisex bathrooms!"

5 comments:

kenju said...

So, did you get her autograph!?

Betty said...

Hi. Loved your story. You asked about the ERA in Arkansas. I don't know why, but someone in the lege decided that we needed to ratify the ERA, after all these years. If you remember, when the first deadline came, they only needed three more states to make it an amendment. Arkansas was one of those states. I don't know what prompted our legislators to revisit it. Just thought it was interesting that we still couldn't pass the thing.

jay lassiter said...

too funny.

I HAVE the agony of "what i wish i would have said." this one is a doozy.

were you wearing a fashionable slip at least, Granny???

Maya's Granny said...

Jay, yes it was a fashionable slip. With lace, as I remember.

J said...

I hate that, thinking of things when it's too late to see them....she might have peed from laughing too hard, if you had thought of it in time.