Page 13 - ACTL_Win23
P. 13
I would also like to tell you it’s a special privilege to be here with Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Justice Barrett and our family, we are actually from the same hometown in Indiana, and I was thinking this morning that the Justice of the Su- preme Court and my family share the same Dairy Queen in South Bend, Indiana.
Being here has been a special privilege. I was able to serve in the House and in the United States Senate. I was visit- ing my sister in 2021 and she’s a little bit older than me so I was visiting to make sure everything’s great; she’s do- ing well. And she said, “Hey, could we order out for din- ner tonight?” I said, “Sure.” So I called up for takeout and she said, “Could you put it on speaker? You got the order wrong last time; I want to make sure you get it right this time.” I said, “Absolutely.” So I called up the restaurant and halfway through the call, you know, call waiting comes in.
I said, “Yes?” And the person goes, “Senator Donnelly?” And my sister’s head perks up. And I said, “Yes?” Then the person goes, “The President would like to speak to you.” And I had to click back and tell the guy at the restaurant, “I need to call you back. Something has come up.” And so my sister’s like, “Take it off speaker. I don’t want to hear this conversation.” And it was President Biden who I was privileged to work with on a number of issues. And he
said, “Hey, would you help us out over there?” And I said, “You know, if the President asks, you help. And if your friend asks, you help.” So the conversation finished. I call the restaurant back and the guy goes, “You hung up on me.” And I said, “If I told you why, you would not believe
me so I’m not going to go into that.”
But the first question that people ask when they hear U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See is why? Why would we have
FALL 2022 JOURNAL 12