An Official Exercise in Humility

Being a member of the President’s Cabinet is no guarantee of easy access to the White House. Secretary of Agriculture Clayton K. Yeutter came in for some close scrutiny when he tried to enter the White House Fitness Center without any identification, according to Ron Hall of the department’s Office of Information. As Hall tells it in the August issue of USDA News, a monthly publication for department employees, he accompanied Yeutter, his press secretary Kelly Shipp and photographer Byron Schumaker to gather background and pictures for an article about Yeutter’s exercise routine. Even though his three companions, who had IDs, vouched for Yeutter, Hall said, the guard was dubious. Hall showed the guard an issue of his publication that pictured Yeutter being sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, with President Bush looking on. The guard studied the photo closely. Finally, the guard said to Yeutter: “Is your first name Clayton?” “Yes,” Yeutter replied. “OK, you can all go in,” the guard said.

--This year’s Muscular Dystrophy Assn. poster child, 5-year-old Ashley Antolak of Athens, Tenn., described Jerry Lewis as “kinda funny” after meeting the comedian. But Ashley’s mother, Donna, said it was clear that the girl did not know exactly who Lewis was. So Lewis sent Ashley videocassettes of three of his movies from the 1960s, “The Bellboy,” “Cinderfella” and “The Nutty Professor.” “I figured what better way is there to bridge the gap between our generations than through the universal language of laughter,” Lewis said. What is Ashley’s assessment of Lewis now? She said he’s funnier in the movies than in person. Lewis is host of an annual telethon to raise funds for the association.

--In 1949, Wesley Brown received hate mail--and 15 marriage proposals--as the first black man to be graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. Forty years later, nearly 200 friends and family members honored Brown at Highland Beach, Md., not far from the site of his historic achievement. Letters of commendation, including one from an old classmate, former President Jimmy Carter, were read aloud. When Brown, now 62, arrived at the Annapolis, Md., academy in 1945, he was the sixth black to enroll, but none of the others had made it past the first year. Describing the racism he encountered, Brown, now a retired lieutenant commander, said: “I didn’t mind it so much. I had a goal. I liked the Navy. I liked the Naval Academy.”