My neighbor, George

Yesterday, I was passing Wal-Mart and looked up to see the presidential helicopter overhead.

This has become a relatively common scene in my neck of the woods. We hear F-16 fighter jets circling and say, "Oh, I guess the president must be in town." Or, "What a pretty day. I hope Crown Prince Abdullah has a nice time at the ranch."

How strange is it that our president lives 15 minutes from me? Ariel Sharon was hear discussing middle east peace talks. Vicente Fox has been here. So has Putin, Blair, Condeleeza Rice, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, among others.

I was at Crawford High School when Bush announced that Colin Powell would be Secretary of State. Pretty cool.

I talked to NBC news white house correspondant David Gregory when he was behind my in line at Starbucks last year. Not stuff that normally occurs in a little town!

I think that it is pretty funny that Bush spends most of August here and that the media have to endure our scorching hot month. Think: Minnesota in February. I used to think, "Why doesn't he come in April when the wildflowers are blooming and the temperature is mild? That would make the media happier and give them a better impression of our state." Now I think he does it to annoy them!