Book of the week: Upstairs at the white house
J.B.West was the assistant usher and then head usher for the white house household. He started close to the end of FD Roosevelt's administration and successfully retired in the first 6 weeks of Nixon's administration. With every new family the business culture of the white house and its estate changed as well. He learned quickly that one must be loyal and respectful to the establishment and its title versus the people holding that title themselves. Though it seems with every new family, he found himself that much closer to each wife of the president. And each president and their wife were their very own magical unicorns; leading the country in their own ways. J.B. West found himself perfecting his trade in "leading/training" of such unicorns so that their culture fits seamlessly into that of the vast network of the white house. As was his position, he discusses mostly of how each family chose to run the estate, from their decorating and dinning habits to their social and economical actions. While he dealt almost exclusively with the wives of the presidents (as they usually were the "boss" in such situations) he also made mention of his dealings with the presidents themselves and what they were clearly dealing with (from the domestic problems in and around the country to its foreign troubles. He writes in such reverence and respect for the job and the people around him, giving each family and household their spotlight. He highlights the turning points in each era through his 28 year run of the white house: from pre air conditioning and freezers to full on whitehouse tours and televised accountabilities. He clearly enjoyed his run and all the challenges it provided (even with its fishbowl flaws). I think his relaying of adaption to each family while still having the patterns of the white house is something I am trying to achieve with my own life. My other half work requires a certain ability to adapt, however in that adaption I am coming to find certain patterns that help center myself and the family as we navigate its trenches.
