Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

IrishAyes

(6,151 posts)
1. We can expect great things.
Sun Dec 29, 2013, 07:26 PM
Dec 2013

And wouldn't it be fantastic if they enjoy productive lives long enough to see one of their own children become President?????

sheshe2

(87,490 posts)
4. Our First Couple~
Sun Dec 29, 2013, 08:35 PM
Dec 2013

They are beautiful together. The best part, it comes from within them both.

freshwest~

Cha

(305,406 posts)
5. I was reading that in the library, she.. so glad People
Sun Dec 29, 2013, 09:22 PM
Dec 2013

had their story in there.

Uuuoo.. I like this one too! From your link..



Regarding the "83 Volunteers chosen to decorate the White House for Christmas", she..

A Kaua'i woman was chosen..

snip//

LIHUE — Patricia Vialpando Birge has a heart for American history.

And her track record of teaching the subject to high school students for 23 years in Denver proves it.

Over two decades of condensing roughly 250 years of the United States’ past has left her with a list of what she considers great American presidents, even underrated ones, and who can spend a career on one topic without having favorite periods of their own?

“I miss teaching everyday,” the Kalaheo woman said. “I loved it.”

Not that her mind for instruction left after she retired. Nope. And the draw of the nation’s capital, with its monuments, markers and historic sights, never waned.

“There’s so much history in Washington,” she said. “I’m always excited about that.”

But it was her teacher’s mind, the one that asks why, or how, that landed her in the District of Columbia on Thanksgiving and gave her direct access inside the White House.

That’s to say, she’s responsible for how the president’s home looks right now.

Those giant wreaths? She had a hand in that.

The Christmas trees, 45 of them to be exact, that’s some of her doing, too.

And floor-to-ceiling lights, well, plenty of those were stung because Patricia and 79 other volunteers spent 10-hour days decorating the White House for the holidays.

“It was such fun being in that house and not on a tour,” said Patricia, who applied and was accepted to be one of the decorators, the lone representative from Hawaii, President Barack Obama’s home state. “People forget he’s from Hawaii. They really do.”

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, she said, but that didn’t mean it was easy. Far from it. Per presidential tradition, the decorations are selected by the first lady, and the trees, lights and nativity scene where the wise men stood two-feet tall, blew her away.

“They were fabulous,” she said. “They really were.”

The idea came to her after she watched a television show on the White House decoration process. Curiosity peaked, she took to the Internet and looked up how one would go about becoming a volunteer.


The rest of her story..
http://thegardenisland.com/mobile/article_b76fd362-6607-11e3-95ed-001a4bcf887a.html

Mahalo for your OP, she, in the Mighty BOG!~

sheshe2

(87,490 posts)
7. Patricia does indeed have a big heart!
Sun Dec 29, 2013, 09:34 PM
Dec 2013

LIHUE — Patricia Vialpando Birge has a heart for American history.

Thank you for rounding out the story Cha. Good background!

I think I will have to hit the library to see the article!

BOG

Latest Discussions»Retired Forums»Barack Obama»The Obamas Talk to People