SYRACUSE - A once-in-a-lifetime chance came my way recently, and sharing it with children made it all the more special.

Meeting President George W. Bush was an amazing experience. One week later I shared the details with my grandson Andrew Brazis' second-grade class, and I was excited by their enthusiasm and interest in learning more about our president and where he lives.

After I shook each child's hand with my hand that shook the president's, this is what I told Susan Cockburn's second-grade class at Syracuse Elementary School:

After passing security clearances, we were allowed to enter the Old Executive Office Building, which is just next door to the White House. We left our briefcases and cameras there when we walked the few steps to the White House for lunch in the "mess."

It is called the "mess" because the U.S. Navy runs the food operation there and that's what the Navy calls their dining rooms. Linens were damask, dishes had the presidential seal and the glasses were cut crystal. We could choose from a menu of five entrees, two soups, three salads and three sandwiches.

Just as we finished our meal, our host suggested we leave. Once in the hallway, he told us to follow him closely and quickly. At a near run we exited the White House, walked along the portico beside the Rose Garden to the South Lawn. We got there just in time to see Marine I land - that's the presidential helicopter.

He saluted the military personnel who greeted him upon his return from Philadelphia, and then greeted some schoolchildren before he entered his home. We were ushered into the White House and watched him pet the dog and speak to a couple of aides. He then turned to greet each of us.

While there we also saw the Oval Office, the Roosevelt Room and the Cabinet Room. There was a five-pound dumbbell sitting on the picnic table in the Rose Garden, and the presidential pooch was getting his exercise by chasing a tennis ball thrown by a gardener.

It was a day I will never forget.

And I believe Mrs. Cochburn's second-graders will remember it as they continue their studies learning more about American history.

I feel confident this will indeed be the case, especially since one of the students introduced me to her father that night and pointed to my hand - the one that shook the president's. [[In-content Ad]]