Another Addition to the List

Last week Eric and I added another celebrity to our Celebrity Sighting List, and to quote the sighted celebrity himself, it was "a big f---ing deal." Ha!

Yup, we saw Vice President Joe Biden.

I mentioned in my NFL Draft post that I met Eric for lunch last Thursday. We met up out by Radio City Music Hall, where they were setting up for the draft. Eric suggested we walk past NBC Studios, because there were a lot of fancy cars parked outside, and that usually means celebrities are afoot. Sure enough, there were people crowding in behind barricades - another tell-tale sign that something big is going on.

As we passed the "fancy cars," we realized that they weren't just regular ol' celebrity transportation. These cars were more of the motorcade variety! I knew that both President Obama and VP Biden were going to be in NYC that day, but Obama was giving a speech down at Wall Street. That made it pretty easy to figure out who this motorcade was waiting for. The police were blocking off the streets, Secret Service was milling about, and NYPD helicopters were circling Rockefeller Center. Somebody even came out and dusted off Biden's car (how do you get THAT job?). We figured that meant things would start happening relatively soon, so we found a spot behind a barricade and waited.

Motorcade waiting outside NBC Studios

Secret Service looking Secret Service-y

NYPD helicopters hovering over Rockefeller Center

This guy makes me ask a lot of questions: How long was Biden in there that his car got so dusty? How does one get the job of Car Duster? Is he a regular Secret Service guy who just drew the short straw? Do they take turns dusting the car? Does Biden get mad if his car isn't dusted? Doesn't the wind just blow off the dust when the car starts going? Where do they store the brush? You see what I mean.

After a while, there was movement and out he came with a crowd of people. Everyone went crazy snapping pictures, and Biden stepped up on the side of his car and waved to the crowd. Then he got in the car, and off they all went. Unfortunately, I kind of sucked at taking pictures, so this is the best I could do:

He's small and blurry, but I promise that's him.

Biden's car driving past us

So now I have seen a member of each of the last three Presidential administrations in person: I shook President Clinton's hand when I was a child, when he came to eat at Parma Pierogies, a restaurant just blocks from my childhood home. I saw President Bush speak at Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day 2008. And now, I saw Vice President Biden leaving NBC Studios. I think that's pretty fancy!