It was February 2016. Hillary Clinton had won the South Carolina Democratic Primary over Bernie Sanders. No surprise there. She was holding a victory rally in front of the Columbia Art Museum in the freezing cold, and I had to be there. As I have said earlier, I have seen every President of the United States in my lifetime, except for Kennedy. I had to hedge a bet.
As I was now hip to how these rallies worked, I had to get a ticket before attending. The tickets were free, but they had to know how many people would be there for safety reasons. I went through the security check and went into the area about 45 minutes early. I scouted the site and saw a tent with some metal railings. I figured this would be where she would enter into the place. I staked out a spot next to a metal railing and stood my ground. There was a lot of pushing and shoving, but this was my spot.
A small group of supporters came into the area through that path from the tent to the stage. The only person I recognized was Star Jones. She spoke for a couple of minutes. Then, there was an actress who spoke, but I didn't get her name. We were all cheering to try and get warm. It was a losing battle. Then, Hillary came from under the tent followed by her husband Bill. They were all smiles. Bill's Secret Service detail wasn't smiling. No surprise there. Huma Abedin was there, too. I didn't know who she was then, but I know now. Anthony Weiner's ex now.
Bill Clinton made it to the stage. This was the second time I had seen him in person. The first time was years ago, when he was running for President. He was vibrant back then. He looked gaunter now. He got the crowd going to almost a fever pitch to introduce Hillary. She got to the stage and thanked everyone who had voted for her in the primary. Her speech didn't last long, because it was really cold.
After she finished, she and Bill started shaking hands in the crowd. I was wearing a NAMI hat. As she got to me, I reached out my hand to her, and she gave me a firm handshake. I yelled out "God bless you". She responded, "Thanks, I need that". Our close encounter was captured by a newspaper photographer, and it appeared in the paper the next day. A few people later, Bill came by. I had thought what I would say to him. I could have been rude and say something like, "Bill Belk says hello". He and Belk used to be friends until he insulted Hillary, and his remark got back to Clinton. So, I decided I had better be nice. He shook my hand, not as firmly as Hillary did, and I said "God bless you". He said, "What?" I repeated, "God bless you". He responded, "Oh, okay". I don't know what he thought I said, but I hope he didn't think I had initially insulted him.
They were quickly whisked away from us, and I caught a warm bus home. I got a Hillary for President sign, that I gave away to a neighbor. I wish I still had it, because it could have been worth some money. In the end, I was glad I went. As history would take us, I have had a thumbs up from Reagan, and I have shaken hands with a former President (Clinton) and a future President (Biden). I had one more President to go.
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