jack's letter to the prez

Dear President Obama,

I saw online today that you might be headed to South Africa for part of the FIFA World Cup this summer.  That reminded me of something I have been meaning to write to you about since I first heard this rumor last year.  While I sincerely hope you go and enjoy yourself, I have a personal request to ask if you do.

My father, John Lavelle, works at the US Embassy in Pretoria, where he is the Admin officer.  I am traveling with my wife and daughter to South Africa in June to visit him and my mother and to watch the World Cup (Yes, I am excited. Thanks for asking).  We will be there the week before the Cup starts and for the first two USA games of the opening round.

Fortunately, my father got tickets to all three USA games in the group stages.  My father does not yet have any tickets to go to knockout round games, but I am sure he will try to as our guys continue to play (fingers crossed).  Which gets us to my problem.

If you come to South Africa, my father will not be able to go to whichever game you attend, and quite possibly, any game near where you attend.  Obviously, he will have to work.  I am sure that by now you know how big a production it is when the White House starts moving around the world.

While I know that the news recently reported that you would most likely be going to South Africa if the US team advances to the knock-out stages, for much longer the rumor has been that you might go to the opening ceremony or our first game against England.

So, now I get down to my specific request.  I am very much looking forward to enjoying games at the World Cup with my Dad.  Please help us out and stay away until after my family and I leave South Africa on June 19th, or help make sure my Dad can go to the game with me if you are there.  In fact, you might consider taking him with you if you go to a knockout game.  He is a big fan of the game and the reason I love soccer.

Please understand, this is not about you at all.  This is about your office and my father's job.

Thank you very much for your interest and time.

Take care and good Luck,

Jack Lavelle

P.S. White House staffer - Please help us out and pass this along...at least to the scheduling office.  Imagine that you are in country for the World Cup.  You have tickets and your family is traveling thousands of miles to visit you, yet you get called into work.  And I'm not talking about a softball game or a "Hey, honey - can't make it to the movie tonight. Gotta go to work" kinda thing.  This is the World Cup.