It was Thursday, April 15, 1982. Along with about 250 others, I'd just finished lunch at the White House. It was the annual Volunteer Action Awards, hosted by President and Mrs. Reagan.
What I've remembered most about the luncheon was not the menu, the Marines marching in The Colors, or even meeting the President.
It was what I overheard as we filed out the front door of the White House after the luncheon.
This attractive, matronly (even back then) woman with bright white, bouffant-style hair was at the door. It was the Vice President's wife -- Barbara Bush.
As we walked by, she half-whispered to a minion: "Just keep them moving!"
So today, I wasn't too surprised to read what Mrs. Bush had to say on visiting the hurricane refugees in the Houston Astrodome.
"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," Mrs. Bush said. "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."
*Just keep them moving.
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* Complicated problem. Three months later, New Orleans evacutees had been implicated in 19 Houston homicides.
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