Secrets from the Secret Service

When the distant snow flies in February and Saint Valentine’s Day becomes another milestone on the calendar, life on the Collier County islands can become more than interesting. Stories can come from anywhere, but when the north wind scatters flurries, and the weary chill of a bleak and seemingly endless winter marches on, the trials and tribulations of a former Secret Service veteran can be the Super Bowl of untold tales.  

Recently, when a perfect winter day was on the rise and the passengers of a morning sailing excursion were sipping coffee and beginning to unwind under the warming blue skies and sunshine, a retired Secret Service agent began to share anecdotes of working at the White House during two presidential administrations. 

Apparently, during a particularly cold winter in Washington, the white blanket of winter was covering the White House and most of the Atlantic seaboard down through southern Virginia. The snow had been gently falling for two days, but as a President from the not-so-distant past was busy with domestic issues and foreign policy, his wife was busy with literacy programs and an enormous schedule of First Lady appointments. She was also determined to keep the White House staff and the Secret Service detachment happy. There was always freshly brewed hot coffee, cookies, and snacks. Although the White House is a very busy place with tremendous duties and responsibilities, even the President and the First Lady must sleep through the night, or so it seemed. 

During the third night of gently falling snow, the Secret Service was not only patrolling inside the White House, but they were also trudging through the snow around the grounds to ensure the safety of everyone inside. Every Secret Service officer has an audio earpiece to hear instructions and warnings, but when one of the agents was out in the cold and resting inside a small booth to keep out the winter chill, there was no information coming through the earpiece, and he fell asleep in a chair. 

This was well after midnight, and almost everyone was asleep except the first family dog, who was the beloved pet of the entire White House. Like all pets, the family pooch also has a schedule. When the dog woke up the President’s wife for a walk, the First Lady promptly dressed for the snow and led the pup outside to do her business.

Meanwhile, another of the Secret Service detail was loudly voicing through his microphone to the agent sleeping in the little booth: “Wake up! The First Lady is walking the dog!”

The sleeping agent did not wake and when the first lady walked past and saw the sleeping young man, she abruptly turned around and went back into the White House. After only a minute inside, the First Lady was back out in the snow, but this time with a blanket. After crossing to the little booth, she lovingly wrapped the still-sleeping Secret Service officer with the blanket before going back inside.

The following day, there was no mention of the dog walk or of the comforting blanket when the sleeping officer was suddenly woken up after a brisk nudge from two of his fellow agents who came running across the snow. All of the other agents outside had seen the actions of the President’s wife and the blanket and to all of the Secret Service detachment at the White House, this First Lady just moved into first place of all First Ladies.

Some years later, when another President was elected to serve in the White House, the same Secret Service officer was on duty. On this occasion, the season was summer and life at the White House was busy as usual with every rule, protocol, and law, always upheld at all times.

During this era of executive residence decorum, it was absolutely against all the rules to use any type of tobacco inside the White House. Outside the building, however, smoke breaks and smokeless tobacco was not against the rules, and a few Secret Service officers did partake during their time outdoors.

One day, when an agent from the Secret Service was outside the historical building he was indulging in smokeless tobacco. He had a fresh pinch of Copenhagen snuff tucked under his lower lip and was on patrol of the White House grounds. Approved traffic was moving up through the presidential driveway and dignitaries were arriving when an urgent call came through and ordered him to come inside the building. With the unusual urgent call, the agent bolted into the building but forgot that the strong smokeless tobacco was still waiting in his mouth. Once inside the hallowed halls of the executive residence, there was an abrupt commotion as foreign notables, their entourage, and the President began walking through a corridor. The agent, with the snuff in his cheek, immediately fell in beside the President as they were walking with the dignitaries to a meeting. Just before the arrival at a meeting room, the President leaned in close to the newly arrived agent. “What do you have in your mouth, son?” the President asked in an urgent whisper.

The agent responded at once but quietly, “It’s Copenhagen, Mr. President. It’s snuff, sir.”

With a quick smile and a wink, the grinning President responded with another whisper. “For heaven’s sake,” he said. “Don’t let the boss catch you!”

As the sailing excursion continued, the former Secret Service officer gave his account of several other humorous but always non-political tales of his tenure with the agency. The kindness of all the First Families toward all of the White House staff remains legendary, and as our winter visitor related, the Secret Service will always be more than dedicated to protect and serve anyone elected to live at the most famous address in America.