Friday, October 29, 2010

For young letter writer, a surprising reply from Obama

Published by The Boston Globe

When 10-year-old Caroline Beecher of Newton wrote President Obama a letter of congratulations after he was elected, she did not expect that she would meet the president one day.

Tweet Yahoo! Buzz ShareThis Caroline and her 5-year-old sister, Grace, were outside during their next-door-neighbor’s private fund-raiser Saturday, waiting with their mother, Karin Beecher. They held up a sign welcoming Obama reading, “Can Malia and Sasha come out and play?’’


When Obama saw the sign, he came over to the girls to say hello and shake their hands.

“I felt really excited because, I mean, it’s the president,’’ said Caroline. “It made me feel really important. He looked older than I thought he was going to look.’’

Grace was shyer around the president, though both girls were buzzing with excitement, their mother said.

Grace said Obama was tall and wore a black suit. “He’s nice,’’ she said. “I was really excited.’’

Karin Beecher said she and her husband had the idea to make the sign with their daughters, but did not expect Obama to come talk to them. When she shook Obama’s hand, she asked whether he had seen the sign.

“He actually smiled and said he had and that it had made him feel good,’’ said Beecher. “It says a lot about the kind of man the president is. He’s got a million things going on in his life — what would make him stop?’’

Beecher said Caroline has been talking about the encounter ever since.

Caroline said: “I kept telling myself, Oh, my gosh, wouldn’t it be really cool if the president came out? It felt really good. And the Secret Service gave me a pin.’’

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