Kevin's Celeb Pics

Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union and General Secretary of the Communist Party, is in Peoria, Illinois, today to visit Eureka College as part of Ronald Reagan Day at the college (President Reagen was a 1932 graduate of the college) and to speak at the college's Ronald Reagan Day Dinner at the Peoria Civic Center. President Gorbachev worked with President Ronald Reagan to end communist rule in Eastern Europe and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his efforts.

President Gorbachev stopped for this photograph as he was leaving his hotel this morning enroute to the college. My friend, Jay, spotted his interpreter a few minutes after we arrived at the hotel. He asked if it would be possible to get a photograph with President Gorbachev. With local police, state police, and his own security detail standing next to us, we waited patiently for President Gorbachev to arrive in the lobby. He was led into the lobby by another member of the security team. The interpreter immediately motioned for us to come over for the photograph, telling President Gorbachev (in Russian) that we were the gentleman who had been waiting for the photograph. I extended my hand to greet him as I approached for the photograph and he returned the handshake. He continued to hold a firm handshake as the photo was snapped. What was remarkable was the size of his hands. They were extremely large and thick (visible in photo above). He seemed to genuinely enjoy the quick interaction he had with us. After the photographs, his security team quickly moved him out the door and into a waiting Cadillac for his trip to Eureka College.