Napan greets the president
By BILL KISLIUK
Register Editor
Few Napans got to see President George W. Bush on Thursday. Gary Hall shook his hand.
Hall, 43, a Vintage High School graduate, Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and volunteer with the Suisun Fire Department, had the honor of being present when Air Force One landed at Travis Air Force Base Thursday afternoon.
Hall was tapped for the special occasion both for his work as an in-flight refuel operator for the 6th Air Refueling Squadron and for some recent heroics with Suisun’s volunteer fire department.
On June 1, Hall helped save the life of a toddler found floating in a residential pool, and on Fathers Day helped with the emergency delivery of a baby, even cutting the umbilical cord for the mother.
Then came Thursday.
The president, Hall said, “got off the aircraft. He greeted some VIPs on the base — the base commander, wing commander and some other people ... He came over and I got to salute my commander-in-chief, which very few people get to do.”
Hall told the president, “Welcome to California.”
The president, he said, thanked Hall for his service to the country, then he moved.
“He had other things to do,” said Hall, who noted the president also greeted a woman — whom Hall did not know — who like Hall appeared to have been chosen because of her community service.
Hall grew up in Napa and graduated from Vintage High School. He was a city of Napa Fire Explorer as a teen, and was a reserve firefighter for the city of Napa before entering the Air Force in 1986.
He, his wife Peggy and daughter Nicole live in Suisun. He plans to retire from the service in February.
So, what was it like to meet the president?
“It was cool,” said Hall. “Like I said, as a member of the military, he’s my commander in chief. Not many people in the military get to be personally recognized. It’s special I got to do it.”
Hall appreciated the honor, but insisted others are just as deserving. Acknowledging the other volunteers in the Suisun Fire Department, he said, “There are an awful lot of people who do the same thing I do.”
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msetty wrote on Jul 17, 2008 10:35 PM:
Given the fund-raising nature of the event earlier Friday evening, send the bill to the Republican National Committee. If they don't pay it, send it to the McCain Campaign. Our state and local tax dollars SHOULD NOT be going to support a partisan event like the Bush reception at Harlan Wine Estates!!! "
grape wrote on Jul 17, 2008 10:44 PM:
crusherfan wrote on Jul 17, 2008 10:56 PM:
nightwatchman wrote on Jul 18, 2008 7:41 AM:
Strange that all these commenters who gripe constantly when tax dollars go to teachers, nurses and the poor don't mind at all when millions of our dollars are spent so the President can come raise a million bucks for the RNC and John McCain.
Hypocrisy, anyone? "
Amelia wrote on Jul 18, 2008 8:56 AM:
sammy wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:50 AM:
HappyHomemaker wrote on Jul 18, 2008 11:39 AM:
GetReal! wrote on Jul 18, 2008 3:30 PM:
btw crusherfan, where do you suggest I move? As a baby boomer born at Kaiser in Vallejo, a citizen by birth lived here my entire life, what other country can I claim as my own? "
HappyHomemaker wrote on Jul 18, 2008 4:19 PM:
citylights012 wrote on Jul 18, 2008 4:47 PM:
I understand that talking about the United States in such away sounds horrifying. But you have to admit that GetReal! is right. It just sounds aweful when it's beeing shoved all at once.
You can't just decide to leave the country because everything is going wrong. That's why people should consider Obama for the 2008 election. It IS time for a change and this change looks like the way to go. If you were talking to me, I wouldn't leave just because the worst president of the United States effe'd up my country. I'm not the one who has to leave. George W. Bush is.
It's about accepting the trtuh, HappyHomemaker.
With all due respect. "
GetReal! wrote on Jul 18, 2008 4:53 PM:
Bauhausfan wrote on Jul 18, 2008 8:30 PM:
In psychology, cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a fundamental cognitive drive to reduce this dissonance by modifying an existing belief, or rejecting one of the contradictory ideas.
Often one of the ideas is a fundamental element of ego, like "I am a good person" or "I made the right decision." This can result in rationalization when a person is presented with evidence of a bad choice, or in other cases. Prevention of cognitive dissonance may also contribute to confirmation bias or denial of discomforting evidence. If not corrected, this can lead to further bad choices for the sake of consistency, rather than learning from mistakes. "
plepgeat wrote on Jul 18, 2008 10:01 PM:
HappyHomemaker wrote on Jul 19, 2008 9:18 AM:
The people in my neighborhood are doing quite nicely. We all bought homes we could actually afford. And as adults, we all learned how to budget our incomes. We aren't sitting around waiting for the government to bail us out or tell us how to run our lives..but thanks for your heartfelt concern. "
HappyHomemaker wrote on Jul 19, 2008 2:28 PM:
Hitchicker wrote on Jul 19, 2008 10:03 PM:
Every swinging "Johnson" in Washington DC shares the blame for the current state of affairs. Republican AND Democrat.
And if you think Obama is gonna be any better...You're delusional. "