Day: May 29, 2008

I knew departing Albuquerque might be a problem when I read the morning newspaper Tuesday and discovered that George W. Bush was coming into town.
Our plane was scheduled to depart at 2 PM. Normally we would have arrived at the airport around 1 PM, but Kath and I decided to play it safe and try to get there even earlier.
The closer we got to the airport, the more police cars we started to see parked on the side of the highway. Pretty soon there was a squad car–no exaggeration–every fifth of a mile. We realized what was going to happen: When Airforce One arrived, they were going to turn the entire area around the airport into a frozen zone. No cars in or out. A traffic jam that could consume hours was the typical result of such a maneuver.
We floored it, drawing closer and closer to the airport. We got off at the exit and we saw that cops who had been standing around previously were now starting to get into their cars with a sense of urgency. We were racing Airforce One. God knows there’s no love lost between Bush and me, but now it was personal.
We buzzed past the airfield and saw a massive motorcycle procession lined up, ready to go. We suspected that Airforce One had already landed. That being the case, it wouldn’t impact upon our plane’s departure. But the fact that Bush was about to leave the airport would sure as hëll impact our ability to get to the terminal. We got to the rental car agency just as the police were moving into position. By the time the rental car shuttle bus was taking us to the terminal, the surrounding area was completely shut down. Since we were already there, we were safe, but anyone who was still on the highway approaching the airport was SOL. God only knows how long it was that way, or what sort of horrific jam-up resulted from it.
About half an hour after we’d arrived, we heard an announcement over the PA terminal: “Attention: The owner of the vehicle license plate 245-WMD, please move your car from the terminal area or it will be towed.” This instantly struck us as odd. Nowadays if you pull up and stand still for even thirty seconds, cops are already chasing you off. So the notion that someone could pull their car up, turn it off and walk away unobserved didn’t make sense. Nor would there be a warning to move it; the cops would just haul it out of there immediately. But what really leaped out at us was the license plate. WMD–obvious. And 245: Five plus four is nine, plus two is eleven. 9/11. Our suspicion was that it was a prearranged code indicating to all concerned that Bush, like Elvis, had left the building. An “all clear,” as it were.
Of all the cities in all the states in all the country, he had to fly into ours just as we were trying to leave it. With any luck, that’s the closest I’m ever going to come to George Wl. Bush.
PAD