THEN AND NOW

Then:

Some people in Midland [Texas] knew about the night [in the mid-1970s when] Charlie [Younger] and Dubya went to Odessa -- "you raised hell in Odessa and you raised your family in Midland" -- to hear Willie Nelson.... That night they were almost invisible, bulletproof, maybe in the way that too much of something can sometimes make you feel. Somehow they scrambled onstage, uninvited, and began warbling behind the great prairie visionary Willie Nelson....

--Bill Minutaglio, First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty, pp. 170-171

Now:

Bush playfully conducts orchestra in Va.

JAMESTOWN, Va. -- JoAnn Falletta was doing what a conductor should -- concentrating on the orchestra in front of her. No wonder it took her a few seconds on Sunday to realize someone behind her was motioning for a try. President Bush.

"Smiling at me kind of devilishly," Falletta said.

She gave him her baton and stepped aside.

Gesturing exuberantly, the president led the orchestra during part of its performance of "Stars and Stripes Forever."...

Just before the music ended, Bush turned to Falletta, who stood on a step below him, kissed the top of her head and left without saying a word....

--AP yesterday

Yeah, he's really changed a lot since he stopped drinking, hasn't he?

(Via Memeorandum.)