Another random memory

I just remembered this the other day, when my sisters were talking about it. It's one of their favorite memories of our vacation.

Setting: outside the gates at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Year: 2005
Main characters: Security guard and Random Woman

So, there we are outside the gates, taking pictures and just looking in awe at the White House (I mean, the President is in there. Too cool.), when we notice something moving in the bushes on the other side of the gate. Upon close inspection, we realize it is a big, burly guy (probably full of true grit) who is holding a big machine gun, just standing there looking scary. This slightly scares my younger sisters, but my dad clarifies that he's just there guarding the grounds, making sure nothing happens to the president. He also says that there's probably guys like that hiding all over. Plus, we've all seen Dave, so we knew that security guards are really cool guys named Duane who just look scary because they can't wear sweaters, which make their necks look too big, but they might try wearing sweater vests once in a while. ****

And onto the story.

As we're gazing at the White House, imagining the President in there is not George Bush, but really Kevin Kline, who is just impersonating the President and getting away with it-even fooling the first lady-we notice a little bit of commotion to our right. So, we walk down a little bit, and we see a Random Woman approaching the gate. "Excuse me!" she calls. "Excuse me, sir!" Her face is now kinda poked in between the bars of the security fence, that's made to look like decoration. The security guard retains his composure, but he's probably thinking, 'Who is this Random Woman that is talking to me?'

RW proceeds to ask him questions about what he is doing there, what he's holding, and why. I don't think the awesome security guard really answered, he probably just grunted and nodded a little bit. But then, she started asking him for directions to the nearest metro station. We thought that was a little weird. Apparently, so did the security guard, who retreated a little farther into the shadows. I don't exactly think you're supposed to strike up conversations with those guys. But that might just be me.

****
Dave: You ever think about wearing a sweater? Make you blend in more.
Duane: Sweaters make my neck look too thick.
Dave: Even a sweater vest? You could wear a tie.
Duane: You think a sweater vest would look good on me?

(Everyone should watch Dave!)