Veil

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Thirty minutes before my scheduled seven thirty a.m. wake-up call, I rolled out of bed, my back stiff and aching. Like every day since assuming my new position, I knew I could look forward to a long, eventful, tiring schedule. But loved it. Dallas wasn’t my favorite city in the country. In fact, many of the locals despised me, and my advisors said the visit would not be a pleasant one. Someone even took out a full-page ad criticizing my work, even though my second in command was a much-loved Texan-one of their own. It didn’t matter. It came with the territory as my duty to serve, and serve them I did. My staff decided I should spend the night in Fort Worth, then fly to Dallas the following day. There I’d give a luncheon address at the Trade Mart to some of the city’s prominent business leaders. I wish we’d flown to Dallas the night before so I could rest a little and spend some quiet time with my wife, Jackie. As happens with most married couples, our marriage went through some difficult times, much of it my fault. My torrid schedule didn’t help matters, but after Dallas, we’d spend a couple of days to ourselves. I wanted to make amends for several, shall I say, indiscretions, so my mood was good despite the long day ahead.

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