When Scooter Met President Reagan

President Reagan had been out of office about a year the night that Scooter, my wife and special assistant, unexpectedly got to meet him.

She had been showing a friend of hers who was visiting from South Carolina around Los Angeles that day.

They hit the usual spots Scooter showed her out-of-town guests: Rodeo Drive, Malibu, the Sunset Strip, the big homes in Bel Air and Beverly Hills, including Johnny Carson's house (because Scooter had seen Johnny taking out his trash there one morning).

That night they went to dinner at Chasen's, a legendary restaurant that was a favorite among the old guard movie star set.

Mrs. Chasen greeted them, as she did all her guests, and showed them to their table. Mrs. Chasen was friendly as always, but this night she was a bit more effervescent than usual.

"Did you see Ronald Reagan over in the corner?"

Sure enough, there was Reagan, seated in a corner booth with Nancy, Merv Griffin and some other folks.

This was a huge deal to Scooter, a big fan of Reagan's. And, of course, it was great timing since an out-of-town friend was visiting.

Scooter and her friend enjoyed their dinner, but the moment they saw the Reagan party stirring, they called for their check and hustled out, timing their exit perfectly to coincide with Reagan & company.

Moments later, the two found themselves at the curb, waiting for the valet to deliver their car along with Reagan, Nancy, Merv and the rest of the Reagan party, who also were waiting for their vehicle.

A dozen or so people immediately gathered around the president to say hello, Scooter remembered on Friday, when Reagan was eulogized in Washington and then in California before he was buried.

The president was affable as ever with everyone. He reached into his coat pocket as each person approached and pulled out a ready-made autograph that was printed on a package of yellow Post-It notes.

After a few minutes, the autograph seekers and well-wishers were gone, leaving Scooter, her South Carolina guest and Reagan standing on the curb together, while Nancy, Merv and the others stood a few feet away, talking among themselves.

Reagan, though, stayed engaged with the two strangers he just met, and the three commenced to chat.

They talked about how long it was taking for the valet to bring the cars around, the nice cool weather that prevailed that evening and other inconsequential topics. And Reagan remained just as amiable as he had been with the well-wishers and autograph seekers who had just moved on, which, of course, thrilled Scooter and her friend.

When Scooter introduced her friend to the president and mentioned she was visiting from South Carolina, Reagan replied, "Oh, I like South Carolina."

So that was the tenor of the curbside conversation, and it was memorable.

Back then, Scooter was somewhat active in Republican Party politics, but she became more involved in the ensuing years -- involved enough that on the day Reagan passed away she received an invitation via email to the funeral service that was held Friday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. She had a seat on row 32. I was going to go along for the ride, and was going to go see the new WW2 memorial during the service since I couldn't attend the invitation-only gathering. Unfortunately, something unavoidable came up and the trip had to be canceled. Scooter emailed her regrets so that someone else could have her seat. We watched the services on TV instead. I felt bad she couldn't go. While we watched the service in Washington, she remarked, "That's something I would have remembered the rest of my life." Then she shrugged it off, saying that it was no use dwelling on the disappointment.

And anyway, how many other people can tell a story like she can about meeting the 40th president of the United States on a curb outside Chasen's?

Reagan Testimonials Website