Grandpa Hansen

When I think of the measure of a man, my Grandpa Hansen comes to mind. Perhaps that is because he is a man to measure all else against. I did not know my grandfather very well when he was alive, but was convinced that I was his favorite, and perhaps only, grandchild every time I was in his presence. He would sit me down and in his booming voice ask how everything was going. He would tell me how great and wonderful it all was, and how pleased he was to hear it. He calls to mind the thought of men of former days, the type they don't make anymore. I often picture him the way he was in what is perhaps my favorite photograph. He is standing on the bank of a river, a younger man, having just caught dinner for his family. The fish are strung up on a line that extends the entire length of his great arm span. The line is so long, that in order to keep it up, he had to grab it in the middle with his teeth. He looks like the quintessential mountain man, standing triumphantly in his element. There is a mountain peak named after his father that I have climbed. I think a fitting place for my grandfather’s mountain would be the one next to it. The peaks stands tall and daunting in the midst of lesser ones that span as far as the eye can see. Anyone traveling there, especially anyone wishing to reach the summit, is taken aback at the shear mass of what stands before them. One of the most prized things I have received from my grandfather is my last name, Hansen. The Book of Mormon speaks of the importance of names, and how they are a remembrance of all that we can, and should be. I have always taken a sense of pride in my last name. To me in represents strength and a higher calling, and that is in no small part due to the man from whom it hails. I have much to do in order to live up to him and to honor my heritage. He is a true mountain of a man.

Madame Secretary

This morning I had the opportunity to go and see the Secretary of State speak at the European Parliament. Secretary Clinton was addressing youth from all over Europe. In my previous endeavors with hearing prominent politicians speak- as when I heard President Bush speak at CPAC when I was in Washington D.C. and woke up at about 3:30 in the morning- I thought I should get there early so that I could a. get in and b. get a good spot. The night before I looked on Google Maps to figure out where the European Parliament Headquarters is located. After some searching and asking around I realized that the EU Parliament building and the EU Commission are very different- a difference Google Maps fails to recognize- and I figured out where I would need to go. But as I have found out,- the hard way, yes. I promise to get to these tales in “Le Bus” when I finally post it- what you see on Google Maps and what things look like on the ground are very different. The “Ah, yes. I get off the Metro here, then I turn left at that building, and walk towards the park” often turns into “Oh wait, there are 17 exits from the Metro. There is a park over there, but there is one over there. Hmmm, maybe if I walk… nope. Now … which, um Metro stop did I walk out of?” Well of course this happened this morning. I instantly saw the building I didn’t want to go to directly in front of me at the end of the street I was standing on. I then walked a few blocks to my left, and saw the same building at the end of that street, which anomaly Google certainly hadn’t prepared me for. Fortunately for me, the EU is a pretty big deal here and I was able to ask directions without any real problems. But you didn’t come here to read about me getting lost, so I will skip the oddity that was getting my badge and get to the point.

Ryan, the other NATO intern from the U, and I made our way into where the event was to be held. On our way in we met a few girls who are also Americans who are interning for NATO HQ. There had been a few people in front of us, but the first few rows hadn’t been filled up yet. I suggested we sit in the second row right next to the isle. But Ryan pointed out 2 seats right up front. I agreed and we went up there. I was pretty excited. We were on the same side of the stage Secretary Clinton would be on. We stood up and got our pictures next to the stage, thinking it was pretty cool to be able to get that close. Then a guy came over to the two girls sitting next to us and asked them if they wanted to go up on stage and sit behind Secretary Clinton, and they of course were overjoyed at the idea. He then said in a general way that they were looking for people to go and sit behind her. I immediately said that I would like to and stood up and walked up there. Ryan and I positioned ourselves directly behind the chairs Secretary Clinton and the President of the EU would be sitting in, me being seated in the one that was closest to the chair she would eventually take.

We sat there for a while, all talking about how cool it was that we had been chosen- or chosen ourselves- to be up on stage and looked gleefully at all the jealous scowls coming from the audience. There were only 7 of us on our side and 7 others on the other side of the stage. A few minutes later I looked back and saw that one of the girls behind me was getting make-up put on her. I immediately thought, "Oh, she must be important if they are putting make-up on her."In short order I realized they were also coming for me. So the lady powdered my forehead and cheeks and then brushed them over. (I didn’t even realize until I got back to work that I actually had quite a bit of make-up on and that it was in my hair a bit.)
Secretary Clinton was running a bit late as she was talking to the President of the EU. Of course this meant a second round of make-up. Well in no time there she came from around the corner. I held up my camera on video mode, trying not to be too obvious. But when she made her way up onto stage and shook our hands, I turned it off. I was able to take quite a few photographs while I sat behind her, crossing my legs and doing my best to conceal the camera.She spoke for a few minutes about the direction of the EU/USA partnership and related issues and then took some questions from the audience. After about 45 minutes of her arrival she was off.

All of the Tri-Missions (NATO, Embassy, and EU) staff had been invited to a meet and greet later on at the Embassy, which was only a few short blocks away. As I had been there before, and had this time properly been prepared by Google, I made it there without any incident. We, of course, arrived there quite early. So again we were front and center. This time Secretary Clinton came in, walking right in front of us, and went up to the podium to make some short remarks. She thanked the US staff for all of their hard work and encouraged all of us to keep it up. Then she came down and shook some hands- #2 for me for the day- and took some pictures. From my review of my video records, she said it was nice to see me, and I replied that it was nice to see her. To be honest, until I watched the video I took with my camera, I wasn’t sure what, if anything, I had said. Then she was off to Geneva for a meeting that same night. How she did everything she did in one day I don’t know. I was busy and tired just following her to her 2 events that day, and she had 5 in between and was flying to another country that night to start it all over again.

I may not be the biggest fan of hers as a politician, but I think anyone can respect the Office. The Secretary of State does not make policy, they simply implement what the President mandates. Plus I think that we could use a good measure of goodwill around the world. And Secretary Clinton is like a rock star over here.