Lee and the Governor
Lee was home for Christmas from Fort Carson after his first tour of duty in Iraq. We received tickets for a University of KY basketball game and drove to Lexington. It was a beautiful sunny day and we found a parking spot right across the street from Rupp Arena. We agreed that this was a sign that it was going to be a good day!
Our seats weren't great, but the game was real exciting and we saw a lot of three pointers and dunks, which we both liked. UK started pulling away in the second half and some fans started heading for the exits, so Lee and I moved down for a closer view. We found seats a few rows from courtside and watched the final minutes of the game from there.
When the final buzzer sounded, we stood and applauded with the remaining crowd. A man in the row in front of us turned to leave and I recognized him as the Governor of KY, Ernie Fletcher, who I had met the year before at a barbeque for the KY Colonels organization. He smiled at me, stuck out his hand and said "Good to see you, again!" I was stunned, but managed to say "Governor" and nodded at him. Then I turned to Lee and said, "This is my son, Lee. He's home on leave from the Army. He just returned from Iraq."
Governor Fletcher grabbed Lee's hand with one hand and put the other on Lee's shoulder and thanked him for his service. He then walked up the steps toward the exit, without stopping to talk to anyone else.
Lee, turned to me and asked, "Governor? You know the Governor?" I was so proud that day. Not just that Mr. Fletcher remembered me, but that I got to share my son, my hero, with the Governor of KY. We walked out of the arena, back to the car, remarked about the great parking spot and again agreed, it was a very good day!