Friends in high places

The past two weeks were a blur of lucky networking and wonderfully kind and conveniently-located friends. First a "friend" of my dad's law firm (read: someone the law firm donated a lot of money to) invited us to his 4th of July party. Very nice, right? Especially because this friend, Louis Susman, is the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom!
Susman's appointment got Obama in trouble, because Obama promised during his campaign to put real diplomats in ambassador positions and not give out ambassadorships as prizes to top fundraisers. Good idea, right? Well, then Obama appointed Louis Susman, who is a rich lawyer who raised millions for Democratic campaigns, including Obama's. And Susman is from (where else for mild political corruption and lots of Democrats?) Chicago.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5359230/Barack-Obama-to-appoint-Louis-Susman-American-ambassador-in-London.html

So Dad (my friend in a high place!) finagled tickets for Mom and me to go to Winfield House, the U.S. Ambassador's residence in London. It's inside Regents Park, a public (formerly royal) park that's right near where my family lived in 2006. Mom spent most of her year in London in that park, walking by Winfield House with its 10-foot wrought-iron fences and armed guard at the door. (Armed! No police officers in London are armed! This is a gunless place, beside the fox-hunting...) So it was magical to get to go in that door, flash passports at the guard, go through x-ray machines and metal detectors and LOTS of guard scrutinizing us (for non-American-ness, obviously... :) ).
This was a serious American party, with Starbucks, Ben & Jerry's, and "proper" hamburgers! And, of course, a pro-Obama sign!
Dad was busy climbing through the bushes to sneak views into the public park so he could figure out the geography of the ambassador's massive yard. He was probably on about five CCTV cameras at this moment.
The party was so American that they even had a jazz band! Mom and Dad Charleston-ed on the ambassador's lawn!

Then my mom and I spent a fabulous week in London: going on walking tours we'd already been on, visiting a nearby town (Bath) on a tour my mom had already taken, seeing a musical that my mom actually performed in as a kid (Oliver!) and knew all the words to, visiting our favorite free concert at a church we've been to hundreds of times, going TWICE in one week to the National Portrait Gallery for the millionth and million-and-one times... and learning new things and having a blast everywhere we went! We took tons of buses and avoided the sweaty Tube, and Mom trusted my navigation while I clutched my London A-to-Z map. But one new thing we did was VERY new and very foreign and very eye-opening - we visited Parliament!
Luckily they gave us a 30-minute introduction to How Parliament Works (after, of course, the security checks with our own instantly-made digital photograph badges to wear, and me spilling my lunch on the x-ray machine and down my shirt... can you believe they let us in?!). They gave us maps of who sits where in the chambers, and who will argue with whom because they're in opposition parties... it was fascinating. Mom analyzed the discourse methods (every sentence has to start with "my right honorable Member" or, if you're in the same party, "my right honorable friend"!) and I wondered how so many important people could fit in such a small room. The House of Commons looks like kids sitting in a lunchroom - these leading politicians (the equivalent of Congresspeople) sat on long green leather benches, check-by-jowl, as the English say. They bowed every time they entered or left the room, and to tell the Speaker (the guy in charge, the MC as my mom said) that they have something to say they stand up then sit down quickly, making it look like the bench cushions are full of pins! Hilarious. This is how a country is run?! Even cooler - the Prime Minister happened to give a speech that day! David Cameron spoke about launching an inquiry into how the British military question terror suspects, i.e. with torture or not with torture. Fascinating stuff, though Mom and I felt a little conspicuous and perhaps even guilty as Americans, because it seemed like Cameron was purposefully avoiding the words "Guantanamo Bay". A group of RAF pilots sat in the viewing gallery with us, followed later by a group of NASA astronauts! In their flight suits with badges of shuttle missions!! What?! The audience was almost as interesting as the politicians.
You can tell what we're in front of even though I took a crap picture. :) Can you imagine going there to work every day?! Members of Parliament are so lucky, even if they have to use ridiculous words.

We spent the weekend with more friends in high places - at my dad's colleague's house in southeast England. He and his family live at "The Farmhouse" (that's literally the address!), with two ponies and a swimming pool and a pond with lily pads and a rowboat! Incredibly beautiful, with parts of the house dating to the 1650s! It was like being in a movie.

After such a wonderful week, I was expecting to sit quietly for a month or so before my next adventure, but luckily more friends came through for me and now I have the best autumn plans ever! It's a research adventure through the U.S. east coast, starting in New Haven CT, then to Manhattan, then to Harrisburg PA (and Robertsdale, the tiny town where my grandparents grew up), then to Washington DC! One stop is to learn my family history with a very knowledgeable guide (my grandma, with my uncle as our mountain-driving chauffeur - friends in VERY high places!). The other three stops are to visit natural history museums to talk to their fossil experts and use my awesome voice recorder and pretend I'm a real sociologist. AND kind and wonderful people said I could stay with them! How lucky am I to have friends in New Haven AND in Manhattan who don't mind houseguests? Research will be so much better with fun people to come home to!

To return these favors and pay it forward, anyone want to come stay with me in Cambridge?? Standing invitation!