Unconventional Thinking

After officiating a sumptuous Bat Mitzvah at the Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor Saturday, my honey and I enjoyed a lovely night out like a real couple, seeing the new Aaron Sorkin/Steve Zaillian scripted, Brad Pitt starrer Moneyball at the local Bedford Playhouse theatre.

Typically the only movies I don’t enjoy are horror and sports themed, but with a cast that included the aforementioned Mr. Pitt and one of my all-time favorites, Philip Seymour Hoffman, I felt it was worth checking out.  Based on the true story of Oakland A’s GM, Billy Beane, and brilliantly directed by Bennett Miller, who received a nomination in 2005 for Capote, this very special film is worth seeing, whether you like baseball or not.

Moneyball is about how unconventional thinking can give birth to leadership and greatness.  By far the highlight of the night was getting to watch this film about seeing things differently with two of the most different thinking, influential, and outstanding public figures of our time.  Yes folks, I’m talking about the sitting Secretary of State, Hilary Rodham Clinton and her just-fresh-from-the-golf-course-with-Obama husband, president William Jefferson Clinton, who happened to be camped-out four rows in front of us on the aisle (not that I was staring).

I spotted them first and my babe didn’t believe me.  Literally I think Bill’s still perfectly coiffed white hair was glowing in the almost darkness.  We found out for sure it was them when honey went to question why the lights hadn’t been turned all the way off after the previews and discovered three Lacoste clad secret service agents standing guard at the back door keeping a watchful eye on this far from high-risk crowd.

I’m not usually star-struck in that giggly-semi-stalking kind of way.  After all, my first pulpit was in a star-filled congregation in Malibu, CA, and both my honey and I work in the “industry” so we are not typically prone to episodes of unadulterated giddiness when seeing famous celebrities.

However, Hilary and Bill aren’t simply celebrities, they are two of my heroes.  Hilary, especially, whose public life and policy have always kept her at the forefront of women’s rights, is considered, among many other monikers, “a pop feminist icon.”

In that way, she reminds me of another mover and shaker, my friend Joy Rose, the President of Mamapalooza, whose vision birthed the Museum of Motherhood, now open in NYC’s upper East Side on 84th & First Ave.

So when the lights came on and the film ended, honey and I did the one thing we could do under the circumstances; we followed Bill and Hillary out the back door and walked with them to the street.  And when the Secret Service pulled up the cars I made my move.

Perhaps it was because the Museum was on my mind, or simply because I thought a built-in affinity for the subject-matter existed with Madame Secretary, that after shaking hands with President Clinton I stuck my head into the waiting car which Hilary had already entered and said:

“Madame Secretary, I’m sorry to intrude but I wanted to let you know that the brand new Museum of Motherhood just opened in NYC and it would be wonderful if you could check it out.  It’s a very important place.”

Dear God, do secret service men attack plucky women with purple handbags who brazenly stick their heads in the open door of Hilary and Bill’s car?

Thankfully I didn’t have to find out.  Hilary responded with a warm and wise smile: “That’s wonderful!  Of course!”

For God’s sake, it’s not like Palestine didn’t apply for statehood the day before!  But, if there is anything I believe in, it’s the power of this woman’s dedication and commitment to mothers.  Though she runs the State Department and truly has the weight of the world on her shoulders, in that moment I felt she was, and always will be, one of us.

So, let this be an open invitation Madame Secretary, and staff, to visit the Museum of Motherhood and perhaps even come on the day I am leading my monthly Divas-do-Lunch workshop, where women connect, share and explore their inner D.I.V.A. (Divinely Inspired Vigorous Attunement).

Madame Secretary, if you lend your support to this incredible institution and all that it stands for, once again, you will be demonstrating the power of unconventional thinking and the greatness of your leadership.

And I for one, will proudly be standing by your side as another constituent, another voter, and most importantly, another mother.