Paint My Building

Here is a funny letter written to President Bush by a Wesleyan grad activist living in Tbilisi.


> Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 18:06:15 +0500
> To: president@whitehouse.gov
> From: "Mark M. Mullen"
> Subject: My building in Tbilisi
>
> Dear President Bush,
>
> I am an American citizen living in Tbilisi for eight years with my wife
> who is Georgian and our four children, from Texas by the way. We are
> all very excited that you are visiting. It says a great deal to the
> people of Georgia that you would take the time to do this. Georgia has
> had a pretty rough couple of decades and now is a very exciting time
> here.
>
> A few days ago I bought a small building on one of the historical
> streets of Tbilisi and soon afterwards the phone began ringing off the
> wall. It was the gamgebeli and his guys (the local municipal big man,
> here he is appointed not elected). They wanted me to quickly paint the
> building since it's now just cinder block and I have to admit, doesn't
> look too good. I intend to remodel the building soon and didn't want to
> spend the money on plaster and paint so I told them they are welcome to
> paint it however they want. There is currently a flurry of painting the
> likes of which this town has never seen, and I have to admit, downtown
> is looking much the better for it.
>
> In any case I was unsuccessful in persuading them that since they don't
> really have any legal justification to force me to paint it, they should
> be the ones to do it. After hinting that if they had to cover the costs
> they then might decide to take a fine tooth comb to dizzying array of
> relevant paperwork and see what they could come up with, I decided it
> would be wise to go ahead have it painted myself.
>
> So, to make a long story short, since I am paying for this rather than
> the city, and the whole reason is your visit, I wanted to ask what color
> you prefer. When I Googled "George Bush's favorite color", some
> Scottish guy on a soccer forum said that it is blue. Not very
> authoritative I know, but it's all I have to go on. I know you are busy
> so if you don't get a chance to reply, I will go ahead and paint it
> blue. But if you do have a definite preference, please let me know.
>
> The family and I hope to catch a glance of you on your day in Tbilisi
> and I hope you enjoy catching a glimpse of my freshly painted building.
>
>
> Mark Mullen
> Tbilisi