The first time I talked on the phone with President George H.W. Bush, Millie barked in the background. Having authored her own book, she gave whole new meaning to the phrase “publicity hound.” I had to wonder if the president had a “Millie button” under his desk.

I was working at Mary Institute, an all-girls prep school in St. Louis, writing about the president’s mother, Dorothy Walker Bush, a 1918 grad. Mrs. Bush was about to celebrate her 75th high school reunion, and her son was the president of the country. It was high time to feature her in From Mary to You, the beloved school magazine that paired well with Town and Country. I was raised on the Farmer’s Almanac, and glimpsing the genteel lives of alumnae was both escapism and sport to me. I couldn’t wait to ask the “first mother” about summers in Kennebunkport.

On a whim, I decided to try for a quote from the president and faxed a request to the White House, not expecting a response. I threw in a deadline and then forgot about it, moving on to my interview with Mrs. Bush, which I conducted by phone, the manners she’d gleaned at Miss Porter’s School still polished at 91.