Michelle Obama calls herself "Forever First Lady"

Because eight years as actual First Lady isn't long enough. But it's silly, because all First Ladies are forever First Ladies. Once a First Lady, always a First Lady.

Even if you stole the White House china and furniture and decorations on your way out of the White House.

* Bill Clinton voice * "Sure, Honey, take anything you want."

But to actually say that to a group of students sounds so much like Lady Di. Tony Bla(ir) gave her that title. I just now read it in Wikipedia.

Michelle Obama said this to 8,000 students at Temple University for National College Signing Day, an annual event started by Obama in 2014 designed to celebrate students headed to college.

I know you have everything it takes to succeed,” she said. “I know that you are me, and if I can be standing here as your forever first lady, then you can do anything you put your mind to.”

You'll have to go over to Liberty Headlines to see the rest of the stuff she said, and a video of her saying it, and to enjoy the many comments.

Such disparaging comments. Boy, does this woman ever provoke ill feelings in people who just aren't buying what she's selling. Even as 8,000 students hold her up as role model.

And as I read the whole thing, took in the appealing aspects and the negativity of it, a realization coalesced into form and bubbled up to consciousness. Yeah, that's what happened. I couldn't put my finger on it at first and then the realization became palpable.

Some people like Obamas are young and inexperienced when carried aloft, not by their own control, and they grow in the position, mature there in high office. While others arrive fully matured and bring  with them the fullness of their life's experience already filled out. The White House is actually a step down to them. They already attained all the power they craved, the glamor, the trappings, the global connections do not impress them and are not influenced by them nor are they shaped by them. Trump brings his deal making, his people managing and his money managing, his organizational skills with him. Melania brings her developed style, her hosting ability, her grace with her. Neither of them have that much to learn in the office. Conversely, the experience shapes people like the Obamas. They become who they are by the experience of high office. All that both of them experienced is brand new  and the newfound celebrity changed them. Celebrity changes people, Trump and Melania were already changed by it.

It's hard to imagine Melania referring to herself as any group's Forever First Lady, especially a racially segregated group because she already knows that title is permanent, there is no need to draw attention to herself. Michelle believes there is still a need in keeping her tribe focused on her. Maybe she's right.

I'm not seeing much wrong in this. I'm putting myself in the place of young black students who regard her well and went there to see her. Who look to her for psychic, emotional support.

Comments are extremely negative. They dredge up all that we know that we don't like. All the things that we objected to along the way are brought up again as gnawing litany, a corrosive cancer that cannot be cured.

They object to her telling the students that her college counselor told her that her dreams of an Ivy League education were perhaps a little out of reach. Commenters say their own counselors were always positive and supportive.

600,000 students are registered to participate. The event draws top entertainers and sports celebrities. Some of the speakers get political, for example, Robert DiNero asked the crowd, "Who here is going to Trump University?"

The crowd booed.

Well, Mr. De Niro, how many there are going to Di Nero University? How many there are going to Michelle Obama University?  Booo. Trump tried to help people advance themselves through learning real estate. What have you done?

That's a bug up their butts that never goes away, never stops irritating. They keep holding Trump University to standards that they don't hold any other university. I paid for my own university education for the expressed purpose of advancing my career. It failed utterly to do that. According to this conceit I must now sue my colleges to provide as advertised, because I failed to use what they offered.

The following anecdotes wander far afield from Michelle Obama self-imaginings.

Speaking of real estate college. Ever notice the biggest dummkopfs are successful in real estate? That's not saying everyone is. But there sure are a lot of successful dummkopfs. No real college is necessary. A few classes will do. It's a very good area to start a career and make big bucks fairly quickly, depending on your industriousness, your drive, your aching need. Especially in a place such as Denver. I just met another real estate agent last week. The guy is a f'k'n dope. That doesn't make him bad. Doesn't make him unworthy. In fact, he was quite a lot of fun. While I know another guy who could make a fortune without even trying. He likes keeping track of the market. At any given moment he knows exactly what is available. He talks about properties all the time. He lives and breathes real estate, as mere personal interest. He's finely tuned to market values. Always. He likes going out and examining properties. It's his hobby. He's bought and sold for himself, and he's made a ton of money doing that, he's lived in places, repaired them, updated them, then sold them, but only as hobby. He likes fixing up houses. The things that I despise, the things that cause me anxiety, he enjoys doing. But he never bothered with a license and he's never done it for other people, he just really likes going into houses for sale and imagining possibilities. He's lived in some fantastic places.

For a period my dad had a condo in Breckenridge. Until he realized owing was worse than renting because having a place compels you to go there whenever you have time. It locks you in too much. And the time we weren't using it ourselves the place was rented out, all of that managed by 3rd party. But the renters damaged the property, for example, the countertop was wood block pattern and renters used it as actual wood block and cut the heck out of it. Man, was my dad ever pissed off. The place is called Tamerisk, incidentally, a short hike away is the first time I ever saw beavers. I told Gary about my dad having this place. He actually drove up there to look at them. He bought one. On a floor higher immediately above. Later, Gary told me this, he paid $60,00 for a 2 bedroom, which I thought was outrageous, and sold it the next year for $160,000. That's how Gary rolled.

But in the meantime Gary expressed enthusiasm for the place to another, who we also know, who also bought one. So for awhile in that one place I had three condos where I could stay to go skiing. Four, if you count the owner. A very old Texan. Barry and I called him Uncle Brad on account of him being so avuncular. He was dying. He had a live-in nurse our age whom we befriended. Uncle Brad had two condos together as one, on the top floor and with much higher ceilings, so the windows to his places soared and his view of the mountain looked over the tops of the pine trees clustered on the property. His place was amazing. Real art all over. Statues everywhere, paintings covered the walls. Totally over designed expensively. Interior design in layers. The trunks of those same pine trees showed outside the shorter floor to ceiling windows of my parent's condo, and the middle of those same trees showed outside the window of Gary's condo windows, it happed their condos were stacked.

Oh man, I just remembered an incident. This was the day we saw the beavers. We parked the car and were walking through the Aspens bringing in our stuff, but not on the sidewalk, rather, we cut through the aspen trees were there was no sidewalk and no path. A tall thin man suddenly appeared on the sidewalk in front of us. The groundkeeper. He said to us, "Does this look like a good place for a path?" Barry and I thought the groundkeeper was challenging us, chiding us for not using the sidewalk, for traipsing through his precious aspen trees, his careful mountain garden. In no mood to be challenged by an employee, my brother answered obstinately, "Yeah. It is a good place for a path."

We unloaded our stuff. Had lunch, and went out to explore the immediate area. That's were we saw the beavers. When we returned a brand new shiny white path of stones was established from the parking lot where we started, through the aspen trees to the sidewalk, white stones pressed into the dirt right where we walked. The guy wasn't challenging us. He was asking a genuine path-related question, and he acted on our answer. And he's fast!

Is that service, or what?

One last thing about Tamerisk. The friend of Gary's who also bought a place there informed us we can never go horseback riding. We asked why. Surely, he's joking. He told us that he and his girlfriend went riding that morning. They rented horses nearby and took a leisurely ride by horseback from the stable up higher to some other place then turned around. A very short ride. No running, no trotting, no racing, just slow casual walking. But the horses returned wet. The stable guy was livid that his horses were overworked and he blamed the two friends for abusing his animals. He told them, "And never come back here. You're forbidden to rent these horses again. You and all your friends are forbidden to ride my horses." And that included us. We laughed our asses off. God, that was funny. There is no way for the guy to know who his friends are. The whole thing was so stupid.

I miss Tamarisk.

But not much. Colorado and Utah have way too much great skiing to bog down in one area, Breckenridge, Dillon, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin. It's nice to have a place, but it's nicer to feel free to go everywhere else.