ABERNATHY HAS FOND MEMORIES OF CONVENTION, INAUGURATION

"It was definitely a moment in history," Vicki Abernathy remarked, looking over mementos from her trip as a delegate to the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and to the 1997 Clinton Inauguration.

Abernathy, already battling the effects of diabetes in 1996, had to make some of the longer jaunts in a wheelchair. Yet she found Chicago to be a most friendly place during the convention.

"Chicago really opened its arms to assist people," she said. "Everyone was very nice."

That hospitality and the lasting friendships she made stand out in her mind as sharply as getting some national media attention and receiving a hug from President Bill Clinton.

"Those are memories nobody can ever take away from me," she said. "I made wonderful friends."

One was Dr. Michael O'Malley, one of the windy city's leading dentists. O'Malley spent much of the convention manning Abernathy wheelchair when she needed it -- including a unique return trip to the convention hall.

Caught behind a traffic jam on the way back to the hall for the roll call of states, O'Malley wheeled Abernathy into the street and began heading for the convention hall. When O'Malley explained the situation to a policemen, a city truck pulled up and they were both elevated on a lift.

"It could have been a garbage truck," she said. "We were going down the street and I was holding my tag out, saying 'I'm a delegate' to all the security personnel. We made it with a few moments to spare."

That adventure was immediately on the heels of her meeting with the president. A friend arranged for Abernathy's invitation to the baseball field where the president's helicopter would land. The friend was also an old friend of the Clintons, from Arkansas. She introduced Abernathy to several others, making sure she had an unobstructed view, because it was her "first time."

When the president arrived, she introduced Abernathy, again noting that it was her "first time" at such an event.

"He leaned over the fence, shook my hand and hugged me," she recalled. "And he said something like 'may god bless you.'"

For Christmas that year, O'Malley sent her a poster of the Chicago skyline with a similar inscription on it.

Abernathy and her convention roommate Ruth Anne Coltan of Bonne Terre, meanwhile, received national media attention for the outrageous hats they stayed up one night to make. Having a prime location seat, Abernathy was interviewed by the media several times during the convention.

"The convention was a wonderful thing," she recalled, "but it was even more exciting to get invited to the inauguration. Whatever the party, it's quite an honor."

Although Jan. 20, 1997, was a frigid day in Washington, D.C., she didn't feel the cold.

"A black choir was singing 'Oh, Shenandoah,' and as they sang 'across the wide Missouri,' I had a five-star general sitting on my right and a Congressional Medal of Honor winner on my left. I was on the front row. It was freezing cold, but I was all warmed up from the enthusiasm, and to look back at the Washington Monument and see literally hundreds of thousands of people and to think that I was that close."

Abernathy and Republican Donna Lichtenegger have both attended national conventions and inaugurations -- certainly a rarity for a city of Jackson's size.

"Somehow at an inauguration you feel like it's bringing all the people of the country together," Abernathy said. "I'm sure Donna felt the same way. Even though we're in different parties, we share many similar beliefs. Donna has worked hard for her party, too."

Abernathy considered it an honor and a duty to attend the Democratic national convention and took her role there seriously -- comical hats not withstanding.

"As a delegate you feel like you're doing a job for your state and you're proud of that," she said. "There's something going on all the time. If you were really serious about it while you were there, you really didn't have time to do the parties."

She did attend all the women's caucuses and other such events she could, though.

At the inaugural ball she came away with a keepsake and a meeting with a current and future governor.

"The Carnahan family was all there, along with Becki Cook," she said. "Looking back on it, it's sad to think some of that family is no longer with us. It was exciting to be there, though."

She also met Bob Holden there.

"Little did I realize when I met Mr. Holden that he was going to be our next governor," she said.

Upon leaving, she noticed that the placard for the Texas, Louisiana, Missouri Ball was still unclaimed. She immediately claimed it and had it shipped home. She didn't open it until she was interviewed for this article, four years later.

"It's nice seeing the Kennedys walk past and see people you've read about in the history books," she reflected. "I've also gotten to speak to Congress twice. I'm fortunate to have experienced the whole spectrum of our government."