One of these events was the South Carolina Democratic Party Primary winners rally in downtown Columbia at the Art Museum in 2016. They were having it outside, because there were so many people attending. It was February at night, and it was cold. I couldn't feel my feet, and I was wearing several layers of clothing. When I got there, I looked around and saw a metal barrier that looked like that would be the entry and exit point for the winner who was Hillary Clinton.
Before their arrival, I saw Star Jones. She was just feet from me but was not shaking hands. Then, the arrival of Hillary followed by her husband Bill. They walked past me and headed up to a stage to welcome the folks who braved the cold weather. After their remarks, they were leaving the stage and shaking hands with those around it. Then, it came time to head for their car, so they had to walk right past me. I put out my hand and told Hillary, "God bless you". She said that she needed it. It just so happened that a State newspaper photographer snapped a picture of me and Hillary at that moment, and it ran in the next day's paper.
Then came Bill. The former President of the United States. He was surrounded by Secret Service agents. I stuck out my hand for him to shake, which he did. I then said. "God bless you". He thought I had said something else, I guess, because he looked at me kind of sternly and said, "What?". I repeated it, and then he said, "Oh, okay". I didn't want to get tackled by the agents. I was going to say something like "Bill Belk says hello", but the agents would have come after me. Belk and Clinton used to be good friends, until Belk said something bad about Hillary and Clinton cut him off.
So, I have actually shaken hands with two presidents. Biden and Clinton. Biden had a sense of humor. Clinton probably does, but not that night. And, no federal prison for me.
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