I made it clear that Mother and Dad had an open invitation to stay at the White House anytime. Laura and I were very happy that they came to Washington frequently, including on September 10, 2001, for a board meeting of a national cancer coalition that they had helped found. That day I flew to Florida, where I had an education event scheduled at a Sarasota school the following morning. Mother and Dad left Washington earlyon September 11 for a speaking engagement in Minnesota. Later that morning, America suffered the worst terrorist attack in our history—the first major assault on our home soil since the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.I knew Mother and Dad would be worried about me. As I was working my way back to Washington, I placed several calls to them from aboard Air Force One. When we finally connected, I asked where they were. “At a motel in Brookfield, Wisconsin,” came the response from Mother. “What in the world are you doing there?” I asked. “Son, you grounded our plane,” Mother said. Some things never change. Her quip was a light moment on a dark day.
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