Former President George W Bush

Daily writing prompt
Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met?
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Today’s daily writing prompt is “Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met”. That is former President George W Bush. In 2010 I met him at a Barnes and Noble book signing event here in northern Dallas where I live. It is also where he lives. He was selling and signing his book Decision Points. I bought four books, but he only signed a maximum of two books. Hundreds of people, perhaps thousands, wanted to have signed books and the security was rigorous, so signing a lot of books for each person was not practical.

A photo from the front cover of Decision Points by George W. Bush. It shows George W. Bush wearing a black suite.
George W. Bush
A photo of the front cover of Decision Points by George W. Bush. It shows the title, the author name and a photo of George W. Bush wearing a black suite.
Front cover of the book Decision Points by George W. Bush. Click here or on the book to visit the hardback version of the book on Amazon.
A photo of the back cover of Decision Points by George W. Bush. It is a photo of George W. Bush wearing a black suite. | Former President George W Bush
Back cover of the book Decision Points by George W. Bush. Click here or on the book to visit the paperback version of the book on Amazon.

I should say that at the time I was an admirer of George W. Bush, but I have a more nuanced understanding of him at this point. I have to admit I have not read his book yet. It has been sitting in my bookshelf for 15 years. I have a substantial TBR list and I have to admit that I might have bought the book for other reasons than reading it. But I will eventually get to it.

Senator Ted Cruz

Another famous person that I’ve met is Senator Ted Cruz and in this case the contact was a bit more substantial. I am a member of a non-partisan organization that seeks to create political will for solving the climate crisis. They are called Citizens Climate Lobby, or CCL. We  find bi-partisan legislation and try to get both Democrats and Republicans onboard with it and we have been fairly successful. I am the CCL liaison for Senator Cruz office and have had the pleasure to meet him in person a couple of times. We shook hands, talked, and took photographs with him.

About 40 well-dressed CCL volunteers with Senator Ted Cruz.
Senator Ted Cruz TXJR with Citizens Climate Lobby in 2017. The senator is standing immediately to the right of the American flag, and I am standing immediately to the left of the American flag.
12 people from CCL plus Senator Ted Cruz in a blue suit.
Senator Cruz hosts a Texas Tuesday Coffee for Constituents in Washington, DC on July 22, 2025. (Official U.S. Senate photo by Rebecca Hammel)
Ted Cruz is standing in the back between the flags. I am in the front row, second from the right wearing a blue suit. We are twelve people.

To read more about CCL and why I decided to engage in this issue click any of the links below.

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

36 thoughts on “Former President George W Bush”

  1. I met his dad one time. A very nice man but I honestly didn’t think much of either of them – for very different reasons. However it wasn’t really my place at the time to have an opinion of them. DT is an entirely different matter, of course!

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  2. Thomas, I find it both encouraging and instructive to see genuine bipartisan engagement on climate issues. Senator Cruz’s willingness to meet with Citizens’ Climate Lobby members reflects the growing recognition that sustainable policy must transcend party lines if it is to endure. I wish there were more like him (living in other countries).

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    1. Thank you so much Patricia. I should say he is not really on our side but he meets with us, listens and has voted twice (out of maybe 12) the way we wanted. What he says publically is also typically for his conservative base. I don’t agree with many things he says but I think he is a nice and smart person.

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  4. That’s interesting you met George in TX. It’s tough when you learn more about someone especially in a political sphere. A lot of times it isn’t their decision specifically, but other times it is. Do you think you’ll read that book one day? lol I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.
    Sounds like you have quite the TBR list.

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    1. Thank you Sara. I should say that even though I’ve met them and I think they have some positive qualitites that doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with them. His book has been sitting on my book shelf for 15 years. I don’t know if I will read it. On the other hand I am kind of curious what he would say.

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    1. Thank you so much Esther. I should say it wasn’t very strange that I met these two. George W. Bush lives in the neighborhood and it was a book signing I joined (a long line) and Ted Cruz we sought him out in DC. If you are a US citizen visiting Washington DC you can always set up an appointment and they often say yes if you are part of a group with a decent reputation and you are a constituent. I am a constituent of Ted Cruz because I live in Texas.

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  7. Fascinating assignment, Thomas, and great examples. My world encounters were quite different, in that I was involved in Interreligious Dialogue — especially Buddhist and Christian dialogue. Two of the most impressive people I’ve met and talked with were Hans Kung and Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle. I think of them often, because of their wisdom and interior stature.

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    1. Thank you so much Gwen. That is very interesting. I have to admit I am not familiar with Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle but I’ve heard of Hans Kûng. I looked up Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle just now. It sounds like very interesting experiences.

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  10. That’s definitely interesting that you had the chance to meet former President George W. Bush and Senator Ted Cruz. I have never had the chance to meet a President, but I did attend an event in Las Cruces where Bill Clinton spoke while he was president. I did briefly meet Harry Teague when he was the representative from our congressional district in Southern New Mexico.

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  11. Lulu: “Our Dada has never met anybody anywhere near as famous or infamous as them! Well except maybe a few writers when he used to go the HWA conventions, but he only did that twice and being Dada didn’t really talk to anybody, so …”
    Charlee: “He did get Aimee Mann’s autograph once, does that count?”

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      1. Book signatures count as autographs as far as I’m concerned! 😁

        I got Aimee Mann’s autograph at Lilith Fair in New York back in the 90s, after she had performed on one of the side stages. I told her she should be on the big stage with Sarah McLachlan and the Pretenders and she was like “Aww that’s so sweet!” Maybe ten years later we saw her again in California at a small venue, making her the only singer I’ve seen live more than once. I didn’t ask if she remembered me lol

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  12. I admire your commitment to the environment and climate change, Thomas. If I was still in England, it’s something I would like to be involved in. I haven’t met anybody famous, like a President or a King/Queen, though…

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    1. Thank you so much Carol for your kind words. I am sorry I missed your comment. Meeting someone famous might be fun but not very important. When you volunteer for an organization such as Citizens Climate Lobby you get to meet some somewhat famous politicians.

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