“They just want a photo to prove that they’re not racist,” he had turned to his fellow caterers with this assertion.  I handed my iPhone to one of his friends as he stood next to us and posed for our photo. 

We thought he as joshing us and we didn’t take offense, after all we have been continually chastised by the media and the left asserting that white conservatives are racist and declaring us guilty of all sorts of other “sins.”  I was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat and Cindy was wearing a red “Keep America Great” that certified our depravity.

We were attending “An Evening with President Donald J. Trump” at a home in Beverly Hills last September.  A last- minute cancellation made way for us to join a local support group to sit at table number 35.  We were 30 yards from our president and our cell phones were locked away so we couldn’t take a selfie nor could we record the speeches.  Kimberly Guilfoyle and Donald Junior made excellent fact-filled campaign speeches prior to President Trump’s keynote speech.  He was pumped after several campaign stops and he was entertaining in his unique style.  I would love to have copies of all three speeches but no press was allowed and we, of course, were phoneless.

So back to our photo opportunity.  Our dinner was excellent and our waiter was superb.  We began talking to him in snatches as he whisked about our table serving the dinner and wine.  We commented that we would like to take a photo but did not have our cell phones.  He offered to take a photo of us with his cell phone but we said no because we did not want him to get in trouble.  At the end of the event we saw him amongst a group of catering personnel who were watching us leave and we said hi.  Instinctively we asked if he would pose with us for a photo.  He gladly accepted and we hope we did not offend him.

The event was a well-known secret.  We had registered about 10 days before but had no idea where or exactly when it would be held.  A day before the media stated the probable location and we received an email giving us an address and a time to arrive.  Google maps solved the mystery of location; The Beverly Hills Hotel would be the starting point of what would be a long and arduous trek through the hotel lobby, an antechamber and then a registration room.  Thence to a large van that took us on a circuitous route finally ending up at another security check point.  Our phones were locked in pouches and we were directed to the backyard of our host’s home. 

There was a small orchestra playing while the guests sipped cocktails; eventually we were directed to dinner in a tent as big as a circus tent.  We were half-way between the dais and the back tables—upwards to 800 people were in attendance.  In Beverly Hills the homeowners have large back yards!

After our photo with our waiter we decided to walk back to the Beverly Hills Hotel where we had parked our car because of the long lines of attendees waiting for a van.  Along the dimly-lit sidewalk we encountered a lady who had attended the event and had asked President Trump a question about Iran.  We were curious about her question and she related that Iranians, Christian Iranians in the United States, like President Trump because of his policies towards the outlaw regime in Iran.  

Deplorable as we are, we applaud the national and international results of President Trump’s actions although we are, at times, concerned with his choice of words.