National Geographic: Inside the White House Page #4

---

right there."

I said, "Well, you hold your finger there

Mr. President.

Let me mark that spot."

In your home, probably you have

about eight to ten pounds

of running pressure on your showerhead

when it's running.

His was 110 pounds of pressure

while it was running.

It was like a mini-car wash.

The Chief Usher was Rex Scouten.

He said,

"I have to try that shower out."

And it just kind of pinned him

right up against the wall.

The employees are like a family

because everybody see, you know -

it's like you've got

different departments

and everything like that.

But it's not operated that way.

If you see something

that needs to be done,

regardless of which department it is,

you do it.

That's why we say it's like a family.

I remember one time teasing a member

of the staff, one of the butlers,

and they are really like family

and treated our children like family,

and I said,

"If you don't behave,

I'm going to get you fired."

And he burst out laughing and said,

"Presidents

come and go, butlers stay."

In 1945, a young electrician

named John Muffler came to work here.

For the last 50 years,

in addition to electrical jobs,

he has handled the little annoyances

of life for ten first families,

like replacing watch batteries

and fixing eye- glasses.

You want to do the Ground Floor, right?

No one in the history of the House

has served here longer.

Am I going too fast for you?

The man with the longest tenure here,

fittingly, also is in charge of time.

Every Friday, Mr. Muffler

winds the clocks

in every part of the White House.

How many clocks are there in the place?

Several.

...Mr. President?

Yes, it's a beautiful clock.

And it still keeps good time.

Do all these clocks run,

Mr. President...

Yes, they all run.

We have a special man

who winds clocks every Friday.

I'd always managed to be there

when he'd come in somehow,

and one morning he said to me,

"Son, do you know why

when I come into this office,

these pictures are all crooked

and all bent out of shape?"

I said, "No, Sir, Mr. President,

unless the cleaners,

when they're dusting,

they move the pictures around."

He said, "No, no, no,

that's not the reason."

He said, "Would you like to know?"

I said, "Yes Sir, Mr. President,

I would."

And he said, "The rotation

of the earth causes that."

And I said,

"Yes Sir, Mr. President."

But he went over every morning

and straightened 'em...

Oh, I love Mr. Muffler.

I can't do anything like program VCRs

or set digital clocks

and so I'm always needing his help

to come to my rescue,

but he's a perfect example

of the kind of...

...dedicated service that people

have given to the White House

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes