By Don C. Reed
This was before the lightning struck: before President Joe Biden announced his pending retirement, before he gave his blessing to Kamala Harris, and the world caught its breath in shocked delight…
My daughter, Desiree Reed, is Athletic Director for the University of Arizona. (1)
Along the way she meets many interesting people: none more so than the current vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. (2)
They met at a California gathering to discuss a law: Title 9, and how it fights gender discrimination. (3)
Required by her job to be politically neutral, still my daughter was glad for the chance to wish Ms. Harris well: to thank her for “breaking glass ceilings”: undoing barriers to women by the power of example.
The vice President immediately turned the compliment back on Desiree, saying that participation in sports was vital for the advancement of women’s lives. She asked my daughter how many women in America did what she did, as the female Athletic Director for a major University. Desiree thought for a moment, and then said “Five”.
Kamala seemed relaxed and unhurried, as if she had all the time in the world, and there was nothing more important than their conversation.
But all too soon, a line began to form. The moment had to end.
And then the vice President smiled. She pointed two fingers at her own eyes, and then turned them toward Desiree’s, as if to say, “I’ve got my eyes on you”.
They took a picture together, shook hands, and went their separate ways. The entire encounter lasted perhaps two minutes, if that. And yet, as a fingerprint reveals identity, even so the smallest deed may be a clue to its owner’s character.
As Kamala Harris, soon to become a Presidential nominee, reached out and touched my daughter’s life.
1. https://arizonawildcats.com/staff-directory/desire-reed-francois/1862
2. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/elections/kamala-harris.html
More stories by Don C. Reed can be found at: www.stemcellbattles.net
https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12997#t=aboutBook