16 Minutes with First Lady Michelle Obama! Part 4 – Final
MEETING #4 – 7 minutes 30 seconds
Alice and I were fortunate to ride from the Hillside community center event in the First Lady’s motorcade to the United States Olympic Committee’s Training Center.
Now, we were NOT in the First Lady’s car, we rode with Senator Michael Bennet another honor in itself.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-04-02.jpg” size=”33″ caption=”Mrs. Obama and I speak about a business issue.”]I had not been in a fast moving motorcade since I represented the United States as track and field athlete in the CISM Games in Rome.
The motorcycles leap frog each other to stop traffic and clear the intersections. It is a sight to see as well as awesome to be in.
Once at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) the special guest lined up in a receiving line to take photos with the First Lady. Since I was emceeing the program I was asked to line up with Alice at the front to get our 2nd photo with her.
I was able to speak to her about a few business issues at this point and we chatted for about 2 minutes.
I then went to find a quiet place to review my notes for the opening ceremonies of the 3rd Annual Warrior Games Presented by @Deloitte.
As emcee I had the distinct honor of welcoming all the distinguished athletes from the Army, Marines, Navy, Coastguard, Air Force, Special Operations Command, and the British Military as well as three of four notable guests we had on stage. Mr. Scott Blackmun, CEO of the United States Olympic Committee, Mr. Robin Lineberger, CEO Federal Government Services Deloitte, General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; and of course First Lady Michelle Obama. General Dempsey had the honor of introducing the First Lady.
As I introduced the others on the program to speak I would take the seat of that speaker. I eventually found myself seated next to the First Lady.
She was fanning herself on the stage like she was in an old southern church. It was hot out there. Most people thought she was fanning the smoke out of her face from the lighted torch flame sitting a top one of the mangled beams from the World Trade Center that had not been extinguished, but in reality she was fanning a small bee that had infiltrated the Secret Services perimeter and no fly zone.
When the torch relay began down Olympic path she quickly moved to her cued space to great each of the athletes.
When she came back on stage I remembered what one of her aids had told me. He said, “there are two water bottles under the podium. The one of the far left is FLOTUS’.”
I leaned over to her and said, “First Lady, now they (your staff) told me that the bottle of water on the far left is yours. Don’t try to get it twisted and drink from mine which is right next to it.”
She laughed, “Thanks, good looking out!” she said.
After her remarks, which concluded to the warrior athletes with, “Now, really, I know you’re here to compete but you all be careful out there,” I heard General Dempsey say as I was walking back to up to the podium and passing Mrs. Obama as she was taking her seat, “that last comment had the mother instinct come out of you.”
I took those words and began my closing with them, “First Lady had the mother come out of her with those last words! I began, “Now you all be careful out there!” I gestured point my finger to the crowd. They loved it. The laughter from the Warriors filled the Olympic / Paralympic pathway. But I dared not look back at the First Lady because she might have been pointing her finger at me. Someone later told me later that she was smiling too. Whew! I had just survived a “dig” on FLOTUS!
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-04-03.jpg” size=”50″ align=”right”]But her words reminded me of how important family is to the healing process of people who are going through change. Families are concerned with the total recovery of their War fighter and they are concerned.
I related a story to the audience about how my wife Alice really stopped my negativity about my own injury and how she really moved my needle in a new direction.
After the First Lady heard those comments and at the conclusion of the ceremony she made a bee line to Alice to thank her for her service and sacrifice. Now, that’s just cool!
So, there you have it. As I stated from the beginning we have a First Lady who is classy, genuine, respectful, intelligent, and who cares her heart.
As I continue to use the words of sports caster Stuart Scott, “Mrs. Obama is cool like the other side of the pillow!”
That is our First Lady of the United States – Michelle Obama.
Thanks for reading!
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-04-04.jpg” size=”100″ align=”center” caption=”John beams as he escorts FLOTUS off the stage!”]16 Minutes with First Lady Michelle Obama! Part 3
MEETING #3 – 2 minutes
The First Lady was coming to Colorado to open up the Warrior Games an inter-service military sporting event hosted by Deloitte and the United States Olympic Committee for wounded ill and injured service members who serve in America’s Armed Forces. This year there was also an exhibition team from Great Britain.
Prior to Mrs. Obama’s speech at the Olympic Training Center she visited Hillside Community Center to say thank you to the volunteers who were making phone calls over the past weekend on behalf of the re-election campaign that past weekend.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-03-01.jpg” size=”33″ caption=”The First Lady came by the Hillside Community Center to say thank you to hundreds of volunteers.”]As one of 35 Co-Chairs for OFA I was asked to warm up the volunteers who had been invited to a special “closed event” with the First Lady, as well as introduce the speakers on the program.
Again, very humbled an honored to do this.
Hillside Community Center in Colorado Springs serves a great need in Colorado Springs but was on the chopping block in the city budget cuts. I am glad the city has kept these doors open to many community members who live in House District 17.
After I finished the emceeing of the event on the main floor of the gymnasium Alice and I were taken upstairs to stand in line with about 60 people to meet Mrs. Obama. She entered the room and all eyes fixed on her. At 6 feet tall the First Lady has a commanding presence. But her humbleness and graciousness extends far above her stature.
I noticed how she took time to listen to each person that was presented to her as well as give them a big hug. I have been fortunate to meet four Presidents and none have been as outgoing as the Obama’s. That last comment does not have anything to do with how well they were or were not effective in office just how genuine a person is.
When it was our turn to meet the First Lady she remembered both Alice and me from the State dinner.
“Wasn’t that such a wonderful event! And John Legend was awesome. We’ll have to do that again sometime,” the First Lady said as she gave Alice a great big Momma Bear Hug.
I really hope we can do that again! I’m sure SHE will do it again – I just don’t know if we will get another invite! And, if we do, hopefully it will come to the right John Register! LoL
We took another photo with her and then were ushered downstairs by the secret service to hear her speak.
When she was announced to the eager volunteers the cheers in the little Hillside Community Center erupted into a frenzied pitch.
She took to the podium and…she took over the crowd.
I was scrambling trying to get my camera out and ready to take a photo when I overheard the First Lady say “And, let’s not forget Co-Chair John Register who has done a remarkable job.”
What…? Me? In her notes?
16 Minutes with First Lady Michelle Obama Part 2
MEETING #2 – 30 seconds
The next night was the State Dinner. I was so excited to attend. I really did not know what to expect. I just heard from all sorts of people that this was the hottest ticket in DC.
I picked up Alice from the Airport and then back to the hotel where we got gussied up.
Both April Holmes and the First Lady were right.
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-02-02.jpg” size=”33″ caption=”John and Alice on the Truman Balcony.”]Alice looked stunning in the dress she selected. I dressed up in my contemporary tux and put on the new tux shoes I purchased earlier that day.
The reason I mentioned the shoes because they were really slippery and with my artificial limb I had a phobia that I would be in the receiving line and be just about shake the Presidents hand and my foot was slide out from under me on one of those nice expensive rugs.
Can anyone say LifeAlert! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!
We jumped in a cab and headed over the 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The street was jammed packed with cars! We jumped out of the cab about two blocks from the East Side entrance. As we walked down the street a young couple asked us what was going on. And like little kids we said that there was a State Dinner in honor of the British Prime Minister and we were actually invited!
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-02-03.jpg” size=”33″ align=”right” caption=”Idris Elba stops in the East Wing in the White House for a photo with Alice.”]Alice and I went through the first level of security and guess what? (What John?) Our names were not on the list. So, we were stopped by White House security with about 9 other guest in a waiting area all of those guest assured us that it would only be a few minutes. We stayed in the penalty box for about 20 minutes and then were cleared to enter the East Wing of the White House. At least we were not the last ones in the penalty box.
Upon entering the East Wing we stepped up to get our name tint for our table and to announce our entry to the press corps. But low and behold our names were not there either! So, we were asked to wait again.
The sweat was beginning to roll down the small of my back because I thought this was going in the direction of ala (Tareq and Michele Salahi).
I’m thinking of a line from Eddie Murphy’s Beverly Hills Cop when the LA Police officer state, “We’re not going to fall for the banana in the tail pipe again.”
To make a long story short. We were not even on the this list either! The social secretary thought that we had regretted the invitation. Come to find out there was another John Register who had been to the White House who received my printed invite. You see, I had accepted the email invite and four days later this other
[image-shortcode url=”https://johnregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/first-lady-part-02-04.jpg” size=”33″ caption=”Alice meets President Barack H. Obama.”]John Register regretted the printed invitation. I would have loved to see what would have happened if we both had shown up!
I would have been like Slim Shady!
‘Cause I’m JReg, yes I’m the real Reg
All you other JReggies are just limp veggies
So won’t the real John Register please stand up, please stand up, please stand up?
Taken of course with liberties from Eminens’ “Slim Shady” Rap.
Meanwhile, while we are waiting for it to get all sorted out up walks Idris Elba (Movie Star) and Alice begins to flip out because she wants a photo. Mr. Elba is looking at us like I think you all might be the Salahi’s and I really don’t want to come over to your holding pen. But he was gracious enough and obliged my wife the photo.
The social secretary finally sorted it all out and we were able to get in.
In the receiving line I let Alice go first. She shook the hand of President Obama who told her that she looked wonderful and beautiful.
I looked at the floor to see what type of carpet I was about to step on.
I then shook the hand of the President. And he greeted me with that classic smile of his. We exchange some quick pleasantries.
I then saw caught the First Ladies eye who looked at me and must have put two and two together that the lady in front of me was my wife and she remembered our conversation from the previous day and in a down to earth voice told Alice, “Girl, I heard about the issues you were having with finding your dress. But you look lovely!”
Now that is just too cool. Of all the people the First Lady meets, for her to remember a detail like that is just remarkable. Again, down to earth and genuine… (cool, like the other side of the pillow) – aka @Stuart Scott
HOPE and PEACE Through Sport
Hope: Hope is the belief that circumstances in the future will be better.
Last year I asked the following question on Twitter, “Would you ever want to sit down and break bread with the person who hurt you or who altered your life significantly by their actions. But, in doing so also put you on a path for redefining who you were?
When I had two legs and was a soldier in the U.S. Army I was on the All-Army Track & Field Team. I had the fortunate experience to qualify for two Olympic Trials. I competed once in the 110m high hurdles and once in the 400m hurdles. It was an incredible experience to be ranked as high as 25th in the 110’s and 17th in the 400’s. It meant I had met the Olympic standard.
Another incredible experience I had was making the Armed Forces Track & Field Team and competing in the World Military Championships, also known as CISM. These games, which are for military members only, are hosted in various countries one year prior to the next Olympic/Paralympic Games.
According to Wikipedia, “The International Military Sports Council (IMSC) or Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM), established 1948, is one of the largest multidisciplinary organizations in the world. It was founded on 18 February 1948 with Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as its first five members, today, it is the second largest sports body in the world after the IOC, and organizes various sporting events, including the Military World Games and World Military Cup for the armed forces of our 133 member countries.”
The cool thing about CISM is that soldiers who may previously have met on the battle field, now meet in friendship on the sports playing field. Sports becomes the platform for healing the scars of war. The CISM motto is, “friendship through sport.” A motto that profoundly resonates with me.
When I was in Lido di Ostia, Rome, the competition location where the military CISM took place, I was amazed, awestruck, and even stupefied that countries that had fought wars against each other were marching into Opening Ceremony together for a competition on the playing field of sport. Later, I saw the same countries breaking bread and eating breakfast or dinner with each other. I was inspired to say the least.
According to the United Nations Website on Sport for Development and Peace, “Sport has a unique power to attract, mobilize and inspire. By its very nature sport is about participation. It is about inclusion and citizenship. It stands for human values such as respect for the opponent, acceptance of binding rules, teamwork and fairness.”
All one has to do let a soccer ball loose on a field throughout most of the world and people from all walks of life will come running to play the game. It does not matter their social status, their class, race, ethnicity, gender or age, they come to play.
But can sport be the platform for larger issues such as war. CISM seems to have a perspective on this topic that I find fascinating. Putting teams together that compete in friendship is far better than competing for the high ground against an enemy using live rounds.
Having fought with the U.S. Army during Operation Desert Storm and against the Iraqi Army, I don’t know what my mental state would be if I were to meet up with one of the Republican Guard who might have killed one of my battle buddies. When my CISM experience happened the Gulf War had not yet kicked off. So, I can only speculate on what my reactions might have been.
Yet, I do know that soldiers who are engaged in battle fight for their comrades to come home. They share a common bond of being in the fight together. It is a unique bond of brother and sisterhood that only those who have been in any battle can truly attest too. And, if a person ever served in a combat zone they (we) do not come back the same. It does not matter whether that person was in serious skirmishes, a large battle or was out on patrol; war just changes a persons perspective on life.
When I ended my term of service from both the Military and the Civilian sector of the United States Army I found myself in a unique opportunity. I was in a place where I would be able to help other injured veterans (as I was helped); overcome their mental, physical and spiritual state after an injury through the use of sport.
This program which started out with a small sports clinic at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has grown into a vibrant and robust platform for injured military veterans to utilize sport as part of their rehabilitation.
It was then that I thought back to my time at CISM in Lido di Ostia, Rome, and the motto, “Friendship through sport.” Sports is a powerful platform for bringing people together from all walks of life. I began to think that with the current conflict / war that was happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, would there be a place for sport in the future to allow healing to come to these warring nations?
Now, I don’t believe that sport in of itself has the power to do it. I just believe it can be used as a tool or platform to enhance the opportunity for change. It is up to us to change and that change comes from being inspired.
George Bernard Shaw say this about change,
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
There are three platforms I believe work to bring solidarity and change.
The first one I have been discussing is sport.
Sport just has a way of creating a safe environment for opposing ideas to be vetted. Every team wants to be the victor and yet they play (generally within a set of rules). It is also platform to bring about many social changes.
I think about how China’s doors were re-opened to west by a simple game of ping pong. Or, how South Africa came into a better state of solidarity after the oppressive rule of Apartheid through World Cup Football (soccer to U.S. folks) as was depicted in the movie “Invictus.”
Sir Ludwig Gutteman first introduced the idea of using sport as a tool for rehabilitation back in 1948. He is considered the founder of the Paralympic movement. His idea was that sport (the sport of Wheelchair basketball) was perfect for getting soldiers who suffered spinal cord injuries in WWII to advance in life based on the competitiveness of this sport platform.
The second platform for uniting people is music. Music is a part of every culture. People who play in bands or in orchestras can play anywhere in the world and with anybody who knows how to read music. Even if a person does not know how to read music, they generally can hum a tune on key.
The final platform that brings people together is food. People have to eat and conversations are always better, or worse, when food is around.
Think about it, when you go out to a new location whether abroad or in the close proximity to where you live, how do you usually describe that location? Many of us say, “The food was great.” And then the conversation goes on from there. Food is the third element that brings us together. Why? Because everyone has to eat!
Check out the “World Peace Festival” that happened on October 1st 2011 in Hawaii.
Now, getting back to CISM.
My thought was similar about the end state of how sports could shape a world. My hypothesis is that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are the closest venues to peace on earth that the world has.
All countries compete under the banner of peace.
Other people exploit this sport banner to advance their own social causes. They do this because their social cause gets greater attention when focused on an event that draws so many global viewers.
Visa even has a commercial on right now called, “Go World”, which celebrates the commonality of sport in all of us.
So, if the Olympic and Paralympic Games are close to peace on earth, then CISM gets more at the root of countries that have fought against each other and builds a bridge for them to dialogue.
This might be a scenario. A soldier injured by a roadside bomb or his counterpart, who was also injured in a similar fight on the same battlefield. Both heal in their respective countries with sport as the mechanism. They both grow strong and understand that the disability is not in their physical condition, but rather the limitations that only their minds hold for them.
They attend their countries respective sports camps and make the Paralympic team (Games for athletes with physical disabilities and visual impairments). The CISM games, which comes one year prior to the Paralympic Games hosts and event and these two athletes are competing for their respective counteries.
The two athletes march into the stadium under their nations flag and eventually meet up on the field of play. They engage in dialogue and discover that they share a commonality: they were both in the same fight, and both were injured on the same day in the same location.
Later they find themselves breaking bread over dinner and they are able to talk about their experiences with each other through hand gestures, facial expressions and other non-verbal forms of communication.
The physical scars are still visible, yet healed, but the internal wounds are still fresh. And still they are able to talk about their lives to each other and eventually come to a mutual soldiers respect, that the battle is over so the healing can begin.
Some people might be reading and find this as a hard concept to grasp. Breaking bread with your enemy is very hard and I don’t suggest this blog to be flipped. But there are examples of solidarity that resonate in this space of soldiers returning to where they once fought to make amends with the damage that was done both physically and emotionally.
The concept of soldiers going back and making peace in the areas they fought is not new. Soldiers still go back to France and recount the days of WWII and Normandy landing.
Vietnam veterans go back to Vietnam and make amends for the harshness of war that happened so long ago. In our minds we are decades removed, but for many, that experience is still being lived by the minds of those who fought it.
One of the most heroic of all revisits is the story of Lou Zamparini. You have got to read this guys story. There is a movie coming out about his life as well. This guy went back to make amends with people who used to beat him senseless while he was a prisoner of war!
For the past seven years I have been softly pursuing a gathering of injured veterans like this. A chance for true healing to begin. The war is over. The scars remain. And, scars can heal. I believe sport has the power to heal some of those scars. And, it won’t hurt to have some good music and better food to go along with healing process.
Three weeks ago a giant step was taken to make this vision a reality.
So, I ask the question again, “Would you ever want to sit down and break bread with the person who hurt you the most? Who altered your life and through their actions gave you a new you?”
If soldiers can do it, it begs the question to us all, can we make the first step towards amends with those in our lives who have hurt us the most?
I would enjoy the opportunity to hear your thoughts and opinions on this topic. Let me know what you think. And, stay tuned, because big dreams may just become giant realities in 2012!
Lesson from a Wind Miller at a Windmill in Holland
I was in Holland a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to speak with a real life windmiller.
I thought that wind mills in Holland were used for grinding grain or creating some type of power. Boy was I way off base.
The lowest lands in Holland sit about 4 meter below sea level and each of the windmills was used to pump the water out and into dykes. In 1633 there were about 52 windmills in the region that moved, on a good day, 1000 liters of water every second to pump the water out of fields!
I was inspired by this just because of the sheer ingenuity of the process. I also learned that each mill had a family that lived inside the windmill at all times because they never knew when the wind was going to come and they had to be ready to turn the sails in the direction of the wind.
Well instead of letting me bore you with these details and writing this out, why don’t I just introduce you to Fred who operates a mill that has been in his family for generations.
Take it away Fred!