Sarah Palin: Where Have I Met Her Before?

As I watched Sarah Palin work the crowd at the Republican Convention, I kept trying to remember where I had met her before. She looks and sounds so familiar to me. I'm getting older now, and can't always place all the people I've met over the years.

Then it dawned on me. She was the really cute and successful real estate agent I had a couple of transactions with during my career. Pretty and perky, she sold lots of houses, mostly to men who seemed very taken with her. As I remember, she was a big smiler, but beneath that smile was a really tough negotiator. In real estate, this can be a good thing, if you know what you are negotiating about. Unfortunately, Sarah was a little vague on contract law and time essences. She just did her own thing and made lots of bucks. Her manager answered all the lawsuit questions that came up later, and her malpractice insurance was frighteningly high.

Then I looked at her again and realized that isn't who she was. I kept trying to place her and came up with it, I thought. She was the area Tupperware Sales Manager, who got me, in a moment of weakness and some financial concern, to sign up as a distributor. I remembered her daily calls to see if I had been calling my Golden One Hundred closest friends trying to book some parties. I remember, too, how quickly I regretted my decision to try this. Well, she does look just like that lady, but I realized that, no, that wasn't her.

Then, I finally placed her for sure. She was the president of the Women's Service Club I joined when I was still a stay-at-home mom. She's the lady who talked us all into doing a Christmas Bazaar and making hundreds of hand-crafted items. We met every week from September until mid-November, making pine-cone wreaths, clothespin Santas, mongrammed tree skirts, sequin-coated ornaments. It was a shame that Sarah couldn't be there with us more, but she always seemed to have some other more pressing appointment on our workdays.
It's hard when you are such an involved person to do all the things you'd like to do.
As I remember, Sarah was able to make the thank-you luncheon where she received a plaque for organizing the bazaar.

Now, she's running for vice-president of the United States, a heartbeat away from the office being sought by a somewhat elderly and not terribly well-looking John McCain.

Sarah, here's hoping that unlike your look-alike friends you take the time to learn the contracts and legalities involved in the job you are undertaking, don't use your authority to push folks around, and make sure that you have the time to do the job you are up for as well as taking care of your personal obligations. And just keep on giving them all that perky smile.