1. [pl] windings or convolutions, as of a stream
2. ornamental patterns of winding or crisscrossing lines
3. aimless wandering; rambling
I was listening to NPR yesterday and heard this wonderfully inspiring story:
President-elect Barack Obama will be the first black president to live in the White House — but not the first black person.
Slaves helped construct the building. Black men and women worked in the White House as servers, cooks and maids, sometimes as property of U.S. presidents. Until recently, almost all the White House butlers were black. Lynwood Westray, who spent 32 years as a part-time butler in the White House, was part of that tradition.
He served eight presidents, starting with John F. Kennedy, before leaving the White House in 1994.
When reflecting on his fondest memory, Westray talks about a time in 1979 when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the White House. After dinner, Prince Philip went into the Red Room, next to the state dining room. Westray and his buddy were serving liquor. Westray says he was carrying the tray and glasses.
"The prince was in there by himself, which was odd, because everybody else had gone down to the other end of the building," Westray says. "I said, 'Your Majesty, would you care for a cordial?' He says, 'I'll take one if you let me serve it.' What do you do? I didn't do all that because I had the stuff in my hand. And he says, 'If you let me pour it, I'll have one with you.'
"... So he poured it, the one he wanted, and we took the same thing that he had. And we had our drink there together and had a little talk while we were there. He told us if we were ever over there in London to stop at Buckingham Palace and see him. Can you imagine the prince serving you? I enjoyed it. You know, we're not supposed to drink and carry on at that time. We're not guests. It was just the three of us in the room, so nobody knew what happened. And I drank my little cordial, we all drank, and had a little conversation. But that was one thing I'll never forget, having been served by royalty." (All Things Considered, January 15, 2009)
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