Dusk was already falling so Cathy and I were ready to leave the poolside reception at the Vice President's residence celebrating Rosh Hashanah when I took one more look at the small house at the other end of the pool. I had been admiring the small structure even as my wife and I were chatting with Vice President Joe Biden and about 130 Jewish leaders on the Tuesday before the holiday.
"Let's go down and take a close look," I said and we walked to the other end of the pool. "It looks really nice." The lights in the small structure were on, twinkling in the beautiful September air.
We walked close but kept a respectful distance, just poking our noses close enough to get a better look.
"It's our pool house," said a voice from a few feet away, where a small group of women were chatting. "Want to look inside?"
Jill Biden, the Vice President's wife, walked over and opened the door. "It's a very special place," said the Second Lady. "Tipper Gore built it so her mother would have a place to stay."
Jill showed us the small kitchen, the bathroom and the couch, which folds out for guests. "I love to come down here," she said.
"Nice place to get away?" I suggested.
"Sure is," she said, with a sigh. "Sometimes Joe and I just come down in the morning with our coffee and sit and relax for a few minutes."
She pointed out that she had had the main room repainted soft blue in keeping with the water theme. We chatted a little about about a few other features and she smiled broadly as we turned to leave.
"Thank you so much," we said, bidding her goodbye.
It was a great ending to a wonderful evening.
We had been invited to the reception a couple of weeks earlier and responded immediately. We arrived a few minutes early on Sept. 7 and parked on the long driveway after our car was inspected by a bomb-sniffing dog and our names were checked on the list.
Then we walked in, had hor d'oeuvres (dietary laws observed) and wine and soft drinks. Vice President Biden spoke for a few minutes about the need for peace in the new year, recited a very nice holiday poem and then announced that he and Jill planned to stay as long as guests were willing.
We chatted with some nice people from Delaware (there were a lot of nice people from Delaware) and some others who were from the Washington area. The Vice President was game. One couple called one of their children and asked Biden to speak to him. The Vice President obliged. Then they called their other son. Again, the Vice President chatted over the phone.
"No more children?" I asked.
"No, that's it," the mother said.
We also talked a little politics. The Vice President told a small group of us about his faith in the good nature of people. He told a story about how Mike Mansfield, then the Majority Leader of the Senate at the time Biden first arrived, advised him, "You can always question a man's judgment, but don't question his motives." Biden said he thinks the American people will ultimately get the politics right, though he admitted, "Some of the things that the Republicans are saying today are terrible."
We had our picture taken with the Vice President, as did most of the other people there. He kissed his friends, shook hands with others, and had a nice word for everyone.
Although the event was supposed to last 90 minutes, the crowd only began to thin out after about two hours. So we started to head out. But that pool house caught my eye.
