The Presidential Visit

The man who thinks he's the second coming showed up yesterday to throw out the first ball on the Cardinals' opening day. This resulted in a little bit of chaos. While some people were excited about his visit, others were not so pleased. Excerpts from the above linked article:
"The home opener is always a big deal in St. Louis, a rite of spring and proof of the enduring passion for Cardinals baseball. The talk in and around Busch was about pride or irritation over the president's visit - and of the unmixed joy of having baseball back in town"
"Waits of 90 minutes were common, and a few fans said they were in line even longer.
"[name] said he won't vote for Bush but didn't mind the long wait, adding, "The lines on bobblehead days are awful, too."

"[name], who wears a leg brace because of polio. ...usually gets to ride the stadium elevator, but the Secret Service made it off-limits. [She] had to walk slowly up the ramps to reach their upper deck seats."
""He's messed up a perfectly good day," said [name] of St. Louis. "Half of the festivities are shut down so we can get into the stadium early."
"I'm here in spite of him because I'm a baseball fanatic," said [name] "I resent that he turned opening day into a campaign thing. Baseball is a religion in this town, and this is one time when you shouldn't mix religion with politics."
The Republicans had a voter registration van on Walnut Street, and members of a local group that supports the likely Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry, held signs at Kiener Plaza and tried to sign up volunteers.
[name], who heads the local Instead of War Coalition, was arrested about 1 p.m. for refusing to leave the Newstead Avenue overpass at Highway 40. The president's motorcade used Highway 40 to get downtown from Lambert Field.
Vendors weren't allowed to sell baseballs until after the President had left. It's a shame, too. I would have paid $12 for a baseball to chuck at the shrub. It would have been worth every penny. And the media would have loved it too!
Parking prices were as high as $25 for opening day. Bear in mind, you can usually park for $2 -$5, or $8 for parking within a block of the stadium.
Also, a light helicopter was forced to land when the pilot tried to fly his family from St. Charles to Spanish Lake. For those of you who don't know the metro area, let me elucidate. St. Charles is way up north of St. Louis. Spanish Lake is way west. But apparently, the flight plan brought them within 10 miles of the Prez. A pair of f-15 fighters circled the helicopter until it landed.
The news is putting an interesting spin on the guy with the shotgun, too.

What really happened was the guy couldn't use the overpass, because it was blocked off during the presidential visit. The police escorted him back to his house. When they didn't leave right away, he came out on his porch with a shotgun. Realizing that this was downright stupid, he put the gun away and let the police arrest him with no trouble.