Episode 68: Former First Lady Laura Bush, Plus Twins Jenna and Barbara
Oprah was surprised to hear that Laura got her driver’s license in Texas at 14. Oprah wants to talk about the news that recently broke that Laura was in a car accident and killed a friend at age 17. Laura says that it was a weeknight, with a school holiday the next day. She was going to go to the movie with her friend. She didn’t see a stop sign until it was too late, and she went on into the intersection, which is usually very quiet. She hit another car, she didn’t know that the car she hit contained her friend, Mike. She and Julie escaped, they were thrown from the car. She was praying for the person that she hit and in the hospital she heard Mike’s mother, and then she knew, even though she hoped against hope. Mike’s funeral was that weekend, and all of her friends went. They were very close. Laura says that no one talked about it, she put it out of her mind as much as she could. She never spoke to the Douglas family, no one suggested that she should. She didn’t go to the funeral as her parents thought that she shouldn’t. Since having her own children, she can now see it from the perspective of parental loss- for many years she saw it only through the eyes of a 17 year old. Now she knows how profound the loss is. Barbara and Jenna had a few friends who died in car accidents, and the family went over immediately as the parents need that, to keep their child alive. She knows that you will live with it forever, and that what if’s are futile. She will carry the guilt for her whole life.
It’s been 15 months since the Bush family left the White House. Oprah asks Laura about her whirlwind romance with George- friends introduced them and they were married within 3 months. The first meeting she liked him a lot. They had grown up in the same town in Midland Texas and they lived in the same apartment complex in Houston after college, but they had never met. They had parallel lives- they shared many friends. When they were engaged, someone said that the most eligible bachelor in Midland was marrying the old maid of Midland. They were both 31 and late to marriage compared to all their friends. They were thrilled to find each other.
Oprah says that much has been written on the ultimatum that Laura gave George to stop drinking when their twins were 4. On page 118 of the book Laura says that she never issued an ultimatum, but that she was disappointed and thought that he could be a better man. She says that lots of people were drinking, but that he was drinking too much. She says that he is very disciplined, a very disciplined athlete who would run for hours to counter the effects of the alcohol, to avoid a hangover. They went to Colorado Springs when they were 40 with many friends who were also 40. They had a wild drinking weekend and the next day George decided to stop drinking. He did it from one day to the next. She thinks it was a combination of factors; maturing, a wife and children who love him, a father thinking of running for President and friends who had started a men’s bible study course which he attended sometimes.
Oprah says it didn’t occur to her that the fear of 9/11 which permeated our hearts would affect those people in the White House. Laura tells how they went down into the bunker and Mrs Cheney whispered that one of the planes had circled the White House. Laura says that we’ll never know the flight plan of that plane that ended up at the Pentagon. George showed up in the bunker and they hugged each other and they knew that everything had changed. George said that they’d sleep in their on bed rather than the offered cot. An agent ran into the room in the middle of the night and they went down to the bunker with their pets. By the time they got down they were told that the plane was one of ours. The staff had to come back into the White House the next day. The staff had been told to run as fast as they could away from the White House- these 23 and 24 year old girls never expected to have been told to run from their job. No one quit although a few cried.
On November 25, 1981 Barbara and Jenna were born into the Bush dynasty and their first words were Daddy. As teenagers, they stood proudly by as their Dad became governor of Texas and then the 43rd President of the United States. As their parents moved into the White House, the twins went off to college- Jenna to the University of Texas and Barbara to her Dad’s alma mater, Yale. After college, Barbara travelled the globe and founded a nonprofit organization Global Health Corp to improve medical care in the US and Africa. Jenna followed in her mom’s footsteps, becoming an elementary school teacher and an education correspondent for the Today Show. The twins join Oprah and Laura on the stage. Barbara is one minute older and they were named after their mothers. Barbara loved the book and has sobbed her way through it. It has been fascinating for her to get to know her mom and the family. Jenna was surprised by how candid the book is for such a private person. They were not told about the car accident until they were almost 18 and someone else told them first. Barbara loved that she gets to see her mom as a person, not just as their mom. Oprah loved it when Laura says that their lives in Midland were focused on their family and friends, and she thought this is the life, and it was. At Jenna’s wedding she incorporated that thought into her speech. Oprah says that the family seems pretty normal- Jenna says that they never lived in the White House and they have really normal parents who instilled good values in them. Laura and George chose to serve and live their lives, but they were sure to not let it dictate the lives of their daughters. Oprah loves the letter that they wrote to the Obama girls saying that it is not always easy, and not to forget who your Dad really is.
Laura takes the cameras on a tour of the ranch in Crawford. Jenna got married on the peninsula on their lake. Barbara was the only bridesmaid. They have a cross and alter built for Jenna’s wedding. Jenna had a perfect wedding, says Laura. Jenna says that the best advice she received from her mother was to find someone you love to be with who shares the same hobbies. They love to hike and read and eat. Jenna says that they listen to music and cook dinner (well to be honest someone cooks them dinner) and they sit around and talk and laugh and do puzzles and they are in bed by 9pm. That’s my kind of place says Oprah.
Oprah asks the twins to complete the sentence, my Mom was right about… Barbara says everything. She says growing up Laura guided them gently into doing what they love and are doing now. Laura put ideas in front of them and exposed them to great opportunities. Oprah asks what they tease their mom about. Jenna says that she is too clean and that her favorite day is to clean out a drawer with new cleaning supplies. Oprah asks Laura if it is true that she arranged the books in her house according to the Dewey Decimal System. It is true. Oprah asks what they tease their Dad about- Barbara says that he thinks he is a really good dancer, and someone told him apparently that he was a good dancer. They show footage of George dancing and the crowd laugh.
Oprah was shocked to hear that they have to pay for their own food for themselves and their guests. They get the house for free but they get a bill for meals each week. Laura says that everyone else has to pay for their food, so the president should too. Oprah disagrees and says that she thought we were paying for the president to eat.
During their 8 years in the White House, their 1500 acre ranch in Crawford Texas was a private refuge. They designed the house to fit modestly among their beloved Texas prairie with its trails, waterfall, rivers, lakes and canyons. Laura says that this time of year they get to see the beautiful bluebells in flower and there is a huge oak tree in front of the house. She wanted a one-story house with no thresholds so they can grow old there. They’ve hosted over a dozen heads of state there serving Texas beef of course. She enjoyed designing the highly organized kitchen. George has always brought her coffee in the morning, and on the first morning they were back, George had kind of forgotten how to make it. She shows the big living room where they like to relax. They rent puzzles from the puzzle company as they are expensive to buy. They mail it back when they have done it. When they were building the house, the kids really wanted a pool and they eventually did build one- George calls it the whining pool as the kids whined until they got it. Laura loves to go for walks in the prairie restoration. George loves mountain bike riding and he has built some great trails. They built a lake and stocked it with the bass that George likes to fish. When they left the White House on January 20th they came here. The end of the presidency is like no other job, when it’s over it really is over. Having this home and property is a wonderful way for them to think of how they want their lives to be forever.
Oprah asks how is President Bush and Laura says that he is doing very well. He’s writing his book, they have been writing at the same time. Oprah asks her how she handled the criticism of her husband. Laura says that it was tough and is discouraging to people who may stand for office. Jenna says that they ignored what people said and didn’t watch TV. They knew their Dad and no one else knew him as a Dad and she hopes the Obama girls know that. She says that he always put them first and they hope to emulate that when they have children in 23 years. Oprah laughs.
Oprah imagines that they say Jenna’s on when she is on TV, they do says Laura and they send out an email blast to all their frinds. Oprah says that Jenna is doing a great job especially at the Olympics. Oprah says that Laura Bush is the only person she knows who loves reading as much as she does. They show footage of the middle school who got a new library by Target after they made their reading is fun flashmob. The students screamed when they saw the new library complete with 2000 books, 12 computers and a hip lounge. We love that, keep on reading says Oprah.
Oprah thanks her guests and thanks everyone who jumped on board the National No Phone Zone day, where she feels we are reaching a tipping point in our national consciousness.
WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:
Laura Bush believes that what if’s are futile.
Laura has arranged the books in her house according to the Dewey Decimal System.
The Presidential family get to stay in the White House for free but they get a bill for meals each week.
George and Laura Bush rent puzzles from the puzzle company as they are expensive to buy. They mail one back when they have done it.
Oprah says that Laura Bush is the only person she knows who loves reading as much as she does.
A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:
Since leaving the White House, the Bush family listen to music, eat, talk, laugh and do rented puzzles- they are in bed by 9pm.