Wednesday, Jan. 20 News from Michael C.: "Laura Bush always looks great, so look for her favorite designer, Dallas' Michael Faircloth, to receive a heightened profile, a la Nancy Reagan's clothier Jimmy Gallanos, if our Laura gets to the White House. As she sweltered in the late spring temps of Tuesday, however, Texas' first lady must've been wondering if a mohair and wool suit was the right choice." Laura's ball gown is above. P.S. George danced with Laura and the twins at several inaugural ball venues last night. First time he danced in four years!

Monday, Feb. 8 George and Laura attended the Lady Longhorns' surprise basketball victory over the #10 Texas Tech women Saturday evening in Austin. Jennifer had tickets to the game and decided not to go at the last minute. Darn! Wonder if they sat where Guv Ann used to, right up front and next to the bench, waving to the crowd.

Wednesday, Feb. 10 Although George was sidelined with knee surgery a few years ago, he's back to running three miles a day on the Town Lake trails. No word on whether he finishes by stopping off at Taco Cabana or Bread Alone, both on the south bank of the Colorado at the Lamar Street bridge.

Friday, Feb. 12 Remember Annie Liebovitz's great photo layout of the Governor and his family in Vogue some months ago, featuring a beautiful picture of George kissing Laura's cheek? These photographs recently led CBS' Rita Braver to suggest that they "stand in direct contradiction to Bush's announced reason for possibly not running, that he and his wife worry about their family's privacy being violated." Braver believes that the photos were taken and published to "court the women voters," implying that George has planned on running for president all along. Let Jennifer know what you think about this...

Tuesday, Feb. 16 Laura was the guest of honor at the Austin Area Urban League's banquet the other evening, held at the Renaissance Hotel in NW Austin's Arboretum. She offered some suggestions on how to expand reading opportunities for children, such as, "Go to your local doctor's office and read to the children in the waiting room."

Thursday, Feb. 18 Here's Barbara on her daughter-in-law: "Laura is a very special person, and I always thought that being an only child with a few cousins, she was amused by us. In our very competitive family, she does not compete. She walks, reads a lot, has great taste, is excellent company, and...(is) a fine addition to our family."

Tuesday, Feb. 23 Laura recently talked to the editorial board of the Dallas Morning News about one aspect of her young children's reading program, Reach Out and Read: "Participating doctors and nurses read to parents and children during physical exams. Volunteers also read to children in physicians' waiting rooms. And each child gets to take a book home after the examination."

Friday, Feb. 26 Austin writer Bill Minutaglio has taken leave of his post at the Dallas Morning News' Austin bureau to write an unauthorized biography of George slated for Random House release by 2000.

Tuesday, March 2 Laura has agreed to head the Austin Museum of Art's building fund for the construction of a $60 million, 100,000 square foot downtown facility that will include a restaurant and a theater. Scheduled for completion in 2002, Susan and Michael Dell have pledged a $7 million matching grant to get the ball rolling.

Wednesday, March 3 In the garden of the Governor's Mansion on Texas Independence Day: George said, "I have talked a lot with Laura and the girls, and while there's some natural concerns about the potential major change in our life, I am convinced, and Laura is convinced, that our love for each other is strong enough and our family is close enough to take whatever life brings." Laura added, "What I was hesitant about is the ugliness that we all see in political life. George and I went through the 1992 election with his dad. It was a very miserable year for all of us. I dread criticism of my husband. On the other hand, I love George, and I'm very proud of him. And I know he'd make a great president." An observer said "her words sparked tears in the governor's eyes."

Saturday, March 6 George and Laura will be at the high school girls' basketball champoionship games in Austin's Erwin Center today. It's on I-35 about a mile from their house. Which one do you think they'll attend? Valley View vs. Vega at 9, Winnsboro vs. Lufkin at 10:30, Hughes Springs vs. Salado at 2:30, Canyon vs. Dallas at 4, or Mansfield vs. Corpus Christi at 8? We know it won't be the last one, because George is speaking at a Houston Baptist church this evening.

Sunday, March 7 Looking very casual in his blue bomber jacket with the governor's seal above the heart and his hair askew, a broadly grinning George made it to the end of the Valley View vs. Vega game, presented awards to the Vega High winners, shook lots of hands, and signed lost of autographs, as a crowd of Winnisboro students shouted "Bush for President!" from nearby seats in the giant Frank Erwin Center on the edge of the U.T. campus. Then he was off to Houston on a very important and busy weekend.

Tuesday, March 9 "Reclining on a red leather sofa with their dog, Sadie, former President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, laughed about an ill-fated toboggan ride with Arnold Schwarzenegger. They remembered horseshoes with Gorbachev, and "The Godfather" with Gromyko....It was as if they were spinning yarns in their living room -- in front of a crowd of over 600. Monday night, the Bushes were at Texas A&M University, site of the George Bush presidential library, to deliver a lecture that seemed more like an intimate evening at home. For nearly an hour and a half, former press spokesman Peter Roussel asked them questions about their lives together -- with the exception of the White House years -- as the audience hung on every word. For most of the evening, Barbara Bush played the cutup to President Bush's straight man. 'I never thought those boys would amount to anything,' she said of George W. and his brother Jeb, the governor of Florida."

Thursday, March 11 "Just stumbled upon this website while viewing news headlines. Been a supporter of both President and Governor Bush. Think they (and their sweet families) are terrific role models and all-around great people. Fully support the Governor for a run at the Presidency. Need more people like him in politics!! Love and support, Susan"

Saturday, March 13 The Bush family is moving out of the Governor's Mansion because the old building, opened in 1856, requires air-conditioning and electrical work. This comes at a good time for the twins, since they're on spring break from Austin High this coming week. Look for Laura and the girls to hang out at their lake-front home away from home in East Texas' Henderson County. George will be staying behind in a suite of rooms at the Four Seasons, about 10 blocks south of the Capitol. He can always hang out at the lake on weekends!

Sunday, March 14 George has decided that he likes life at the family lake house at the Rainbo Club near Athens, Texas so much that he'll stay there until Wednesday evening. Then, when the twins have to go back to school next week, the entire family will stay at the Four Seasons for a week or so until the renovation of the Mansion is completed.

Tuesday, March 16 How time flies! George Sr. and Barbara are planning to celebrate their 75th and 74th birthdays, respectively, on June 10th at the Astroarena in Houston at a charity birthday salute to them, with the money to go to cancer research. $4 million has been raised for the event thus far.

Thursday, March 18 George and Laura have a joint recipe in the March-April edition of Mr. Food's Easy Cooking Magazine, on sale, perhaps, at your local supermarket. You'll find them in a 16 page section called Texas: Darn Good Eats! Other Lone Star contributors include Gov. Ann, Lady Bird, and Troy Aikman's mom.

Sunday, March 21 George Sr. gave a speech in Japan last year and made enough to cover the entire cost of George's '98 gubernatorial campaign: $14.4 million, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report. Here's how it happened: George gave a speech for Global Crossing Ltd. and gave a 20% discount because the company's co-chairman was an old friend. Over breakfast the morning after the speech, George Sr. was offered $80,000 worth of company stock instead of a cash payment. It was accepted and, within a year, that $80k became $14 million and change. I wonder what that speech came to per word...

Thursday, March 25. Since this is my first news of the week and it's already Thursday, let's make it a double issue, like the New Yorker seems to be doing lately. Loyal reader Marilyn asks, whatever happened to Neil Bush, George's younger brother? (FYI, George is the oldest, followed by Jeb, Neil, and Marvin. Also, there's one sister, Dorothy, who is the youngest of the Bush children.) When Neil's involvement in the Silvarado (Colorado) Savings, Banking, and Loan Association came to light, he resigned from the board in the Summer of 1988 and joined his father's campaign team. The following March with his dad in the White House, Neil , according to his father, began "a cable TV business in Colorado." According to Bush historian H. S. Parmet, "Anyone who knew Barbara and how she felt about her children was convinced that his dad's presidency was bad for Neil." Parmet later suggests that an up side to dad's presidential campaign loss in '92 was, "He would be free to help Neil, whose problems he so blamed on himself and the office he held that the thought made him teary."

By then, according to other sources, Neil, his wife Sharon, and their three children had moved to Houston, "trying to put his life back on track as a consultant with Transmedia Communications, a consulting firm to the cable TV industry" and participating in social and charitable events with "Bush family friends, most of whom are at the top of Houston social and business registers." At Governor George's first inagural in '94 Neil told reporters, "You know what? I'm not giving interviews." Since then, his presence at two Houston functions stand out. In '97 he attended a Father of the Year awards luncheon where he tremblingly praised his father: "My dad took us to interesting places, to meet interesting people. He encouraged us...He humored us...He disciplined us...He made us whole human beings, and he gave us unconditional love." Earlier this year, as head of Interlink Management company and executive board member of the Asia Society of Texas, he was master of ceremonies as the society honored four Central Asian diplomats at an evening gala.

Monday, March 29. George walked in his father's footsteps yesterday when he attended a stock car race for the first time, waved the green flag to start the NASCAR race in Fort Worth and briefly spoke to the 200,000 fans in attendance. President Bush did the same at the Daytona 500 during his 1992 re-election campaign.

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