George W. Bush Presidential Museum docent

In 2014, I became a docent at the George W. Bush Presidential Museum in Dallas. I served for a year and a half, and it was one of the most enjoyable "hobbies" I ever had.

We underwent three weeks of intensive training just to get started. And the training continued through every hour of every shift. Little wonder. We had to be able to explain and answer questions about more than 43,000 artifacts, documents and displays throughout the museum, from First Lady Laura Bush's focus on education, global literacy and women's rights to the September 11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 global financial crisis.

The museum includes a twisted 22-foot, 1.8-ton steel beam from the World Trade Center, suspended from the ceiling. The walls surrounding it contained news reports of the 9/11 attacks, along with the names of the 2,753 victims.

Another part of the museum includes a full-scale replica of the Oval Office that visitors can enter and even sit at the president's desk.

Barney and Miss Beazley

One docent area featured bronze statues of the Bush family pets: a pair of black Scottish Terriers named Barney and his niece, Miss Beazley ...

an English Springer Spaniel named

Spot Fletcher, after the Texas Rangers shortstop ... and a sleek black cat named India, after Rangers right fielder Rubén Sierra, aka el Indio, but she preferred to be called Willie.

Spot

Willie

Akili

In another area of the museum was a huge preserved African lion, a diplomatic gift by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. 

And all of them--plus a time-trapped Caddo Indian boy, a magical, mischievous rascal named Coyote and a big, beady-eyed rat named Sssaddam--became featured in an adventure book.