Himself in the Oval in front of the Resolute desk with the former and the future Presidents of the United States. This would have been 1995, shortly after the 30th Anniversary of Medicare. Yes, I had hair back then. Surprise!
The Resolute Desk was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880 and was built from the timbers of the British Arctic Exploration ship Resolute which was trapped in ice and salvaged and floated free by American whalers. The U.S. Government bought the ship, refitted her in splendid style, and returned her as a gift to Queen Victoria in 1856 at a time of immense strain in the relationship between the two Super Powers. When the Resolute was decommissioned in 1879, its timbers were used to make two identical ornate desks, one of which has occupied the Oval Office over many decades. Its twin is housed in Windsor Castle.
Another long-time occupant of the White House is a plant -- a Wandering Jew that has been on the mantle in the Oval for at least 50 years. As far as I know, this plant has no other story attached to it other than its tenacity, but tenacity too is a virtue and a story, is it not?
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