President Encyclopedia 2001-2008

President Encyclopedia 2001-2008 — page 5 — George W Bush George W Bush George W Bush Born Imagine you have traveled back in time to 1956 You're standing outside Sam Houston Elementary School in dusty Midland Texas It must still be pretty early in the morning since you don't see any kids yet Wait here comes someone You see a smallish boy about nine or ten years old ambling across the schoolyard swinging a baseball bat as he walks He has a friendly face When he gets closer to you he stops and looks Hi says the boy are you new You nod your head not knowing how else to answer that question He looks you right in the eye and says My name's George Do you want to play some ball July 6 1946 New Haven Connecticut Connecticut New Haven Term January 20 2001 January 20 2009 Party Republican First Lady Laura Lane Welch Bush Vice President Richard B Cheney Vice President Richard B Cheney

President Encyclopedia 2001-2008 — page 6 — George W Bush 43rd President of the United States

President Encyclopedia 2001-2008 — page 7 — 10 George W Bush George W Bush has said one of his favorite memories of growing up in Midland is playing Little League baseball Words to Know ambition am-BISH-uhn A strong desire to be successful or to gain power fame or wealth You’re about to say sure when another boy approaches Hey Georgie shouts the new boy Can we see some more Elvis today He plucks something out of his shirt pocket and waives it in the air I’ve got a pen so you can draw those sideburns back on your cheeks The boy named George smiles and rubs his backside as if in pain Sorry he says all the Elvis got paddled right out of me during that visit to Principal Bizilo’s office yesterday We’ll just have to play some ball instead You’re starting to think it might be fun to hang around in Midland with these boys for a while George seems like a lot of fun though it sounds like his pranks get him into a little trouble at school Then you remember you’re from the future and you can’t stay here forever You look at the boys wondering what they’ll be doing in your time in the 21st century If you ask George he’ll tell you he’s going to be a baseball player Little does he know as he swings his bat on that Texas playground that his life will follow quite a different course Believe it or not you have just met George W Bush the future 43rd President of the United States No one who knew Junior Georgie or The Bushboy as people called him then ever thought George W Bush would grow up to be president He did okay in school but he wasn’t the best student He never showed any ambition to go into politics All he talked about was playing and watching baseball and collecting baseball cards

President Encyclopedia 2001-2008 — page 8 — George W Bush 11 George W Bush's childhood home in Midland Texas has been opened as a historical site for public viewing One of George’s hobbies was trying to get autographs from his favorite players He would write them letters and enclose one of their cards Often the players autographed his card and sent it back in the mail George Bush worked very hard at playing his favorite sport but he didn’t have enough natural talent to play baseball professionally Well he was a good catcher said his Little League coach But he was like his daddy He couldn’t hit George Herbert Walker Bush the 41st president of the United States was not able to pass along extraordinary athletic ability to his son but he did pass along the Bush family name and all the opportunities that came with it George W Bush had a pretty regular childhood playing baseball and riding his bike in Midland but he actually came from an old and prominent American family His great-grandfather Samuel P Bush was a well-known railroad executive in the 1890s when railroads were big business Grandfather Prescott Bush was a U S senator from Connecticut George’s father George H W Bush was an oilman and congressman by the time his oldest son turned 20 He did not become president of the United States until George W was 43 years old George had to leave Midland to experience this other side of the Bush family heritage When he was 15 his parents sent him to high school far from Texas to the same east coast boarding school his father had attended Boarding school in Massachusetts was different from junior high in Texas and George was in for a shock His English teacher returned his first paper to him marked with a big red zero and the words please see me A Texas friend who transferred to the same boarding school remembered that it was very tough for him and George to fall from the top of their classes in Midland to near the bottom at their new school

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