John and Melody Adams of Lufkin watched in awe as the president of the United States — George W. Bush, husband to their former classmate, First lady Laura Bush — stepped off the helicopter smiling and waving as though to close friends. The Adamses and other graduates of the Robert E. Lee Class of 1964 gathered on the back portico of the White House and watched as three helicopters approached. Two veered off but the center helicopter, carrying their host, landed. A Marine stepped off, followed by Bush.
"We were both so moved by the helicopter flight," Melody Adams said.
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John and Melody Adams, left, pose with then Gov. Bush and first lady Laura Bush at the 1998 reunion held at the Texas Governor's Mansion.
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The Adamses were part of a group of over 500 who attended their high school reunion Saturday, March 29. John Adams graduated with Laura Bush in 1964 from Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas. Melody Adams, a freshman at the time, remembers Laura Bush as "ladylike and very gracious." John Adams remembers her as "quiet."
John and Melody Adams joined a select group who met Friday afternoon at the White House.
"Everything was so elegant and so beautiful," Melody Adams said.
The two arrived on the first day of the Cherry Blossom Festival and during the International Kite Festival. They spent the afternoon watching kites fly and cherry blossom petals fall around them like snow in the summertime, they said.
"It was magical," Melody Adams said.
The following evening they reunited with fellow classmates and others who graduated from two nearby high schools, Carver and Midland. The dance band Jelly Roll performed in one room while a Marine band played '60s rock and roll music in another. Buffets filled several rooms. George and Laura Bush took photos with each guest.
"It was very humbling to have our pictures made with the most powerful man in the world and his wife," Melody Adams said.
The Adams' weren't unfamiliar with the first couple, however. Ten years earlier the two attended another high school reunion at the Texas governor's mansion. This reunion had been much more casual with outdoor tents and barbecue. While there, John Adams shared a request with then Governor Bush.
"I have one little problem and you're the only one who can help me with it," John Adams confided to George Bush. "We've never been to the White House. We want to have a reunion there one year."
Bush smiled at this.
"We're working on it," he said with a wink.
