When I didn't see President Reagan

Town Musician

Reading all the news about the election today, I am reminded of the time when I had tickets to an event at De Anza College to see Ronald Reagan. I never got to see the President because he was over two hours late, but the event was memorable because I found out how the public is being fooled. The event was held at the Junior College's athletic field. Going in it became apparent that only ticket holders could see the President inside a chain-link-fenced inner area. The whole thing was staged like that so that it seemed that the crowd was huge. I went in. It was indeed packed, and the sun beat down on all those present. There was a long line of people waiting for some kind of refreshment. I didn't bother joining in. The crowd was remarkably quiet even though there was a person trying to rally the spectators before the President's arrival, and to get them properly pumped up. Nobody was pumpable. They were all wilting. After two hours of a no-show, I decided to leave. The fascinating thing was that on the outside of this fenced-in area loudspeakers were insinuating that the crowd was cheering the coming of the President, and that there was whooping and hollering. I knew this was not a reflection of what really went on in there.