Standing Next to History Quotes

“the two military aides with the nuclear codes—ours was the “the football,” and because we didn’t know what the Russians called theirs, we dubbed it “the soccer ball”—and”
― Joseph Petro, Standing Next to History: An Agent's Life Inside the Secret Service

“The following morning, Tuesday, November 19—the first morning of the summit—tragedy struck. The president went into the boy’s bedroom to sprinkle fish food into the bowl and one of the goldfish was belly up. Obviously it wasn’t the president’s fault, but he felt terrible about it and was genuinely upset. After all, he’d given his word that he would take care of the little boy’s goldfish, and now one of them was dead on his watch. He kept telling us how he felt responsible, which didn’t surprise any of us, because that’s the way he was. So he summoned a few people on his staff and told them that he needed to replace the goldfish. He sent a staffer to find a replacement goldfish, but it had to be one that looked just like the dead one. Later, he penned a handwritten note to the little boy, apologizing for what had happened, and put it in the boy’s room, himself. With all the other things he had on his mind, he was forever an old-school gentleman.”
― Joseph Petro, Standing Next to History: An Agent's Life Inside the Secret Service

“Then, before leaving, she handed the president a note from one of her young sons. The boy asked the president if he would be so kind, while he was staying there, as to please remember to feed his goldfish. When the president read that, he assured the Aga Khan and his wife, “Absolutely.” He said he would be honored to do it and promised that he would do it himself. So one of the first things he did the next morning was feed the goldfish. And he did it every morning that they were there.”
― Joseph Petro, Standing Next to History: An Agent's Life Inside the Secret Service