Kyle Lonaberger, along with his dad, Barry, 42, and brother, Brandon, 9, had the chance of a lifetime Thursday when they were invited to meet President George W. Bush during his brief visit to Philadelphia.

The Lonabergers, of Narvon, plus two other Pennsylvania families, were invited to be part of the press conference as the president discussed the new child tax credits, beginning with advance checks that go out in the mail to millions of Americans today.

After getting up extra early to be in Philadelphia by 8:30 a.m., then waiting in a room for two hours surrounded by a couple dozen "scary'' Secret Service agents, the Lonabergers were led in to meet the man himself.

When actually face-to-face with the president, what did the leader of the free world say?

"He asked me who my favorite baseball team was,'' Kyle said this morning.

"I said, "Atlanta,' and he said, "Shouldn't you like the Phillies?' '' Kyle recalled, adding how he then explained to the president how the home team isn't having a very good season so he roots for their rivals.

The president, Barry Lonaberger said, "just laughed.''

The Lonabergers were apparently randomly picked by the White House, along with a Lebanon County couple and their three sons, plus a Philadelphia woman and her two children.

Barry Lonaberger has worked as a machinist for 23 years with Albert Seisler Machine Corp. That business, he explained, is a member of the National Federation of Independent Businesses and Bush supporters.

"The White House called up my boss,'' one week ago, Lonaberger said, looking for an employee with children.

As fate would have it, Lonaberger is the only one of the company's five employees with children right now -- so he was selected.

Although there were several phone calls back and forth with Washington, Lonaberger said, the meeting with the president wasn't definite until Wednesday.

"My youngest son,'' Lonaberger said, didn't know what to make of the whole thing, while his teenager seemed "shy and worried.''

Lonaberger said his wife, Donna, a medical transcriptionist at the Reading Hospital, couldn't get off of work -- even for the president -- but watched her family on television in the hospital break room.

Like any mother, one of the questions Mrs. Lonaberger had for the White House, was what were their boys supposed to wear.

"Their answer was good,'' Lonaberger said, explaining the official answer was "they should wear what they want to be seen standing next to the president.''

So, wearing nice trousers and dress shirts, Lonaberger and his sons, students in the Governor Mifflin School District, left home at 6:30 a.m. to arrive in Philadelphia on time.

They were ushered into a cafeteria of the Financial Management Service building where they waited for an hour with the other families.

Then they were led into another room, Lonaberger said, and waited for another hour.

Finally, it was show time.

Surrounded by about two dozen Secret Service men (whom Kyle described as "scary''), the families were ushered into another room and lined up to meet the president.

When they went through the receiving line, Lonaberger said Bush asked his sons their names and what grades they were in at school.

"They said "fifth and eighth,' and he said, "Is that what grade you're in or the grade you're going into?' He was joking around with them a lot,'' Lonaberger said.

After meeting everyone, Bush came back to pose for photographs and sign personalized autograph cards. Again, he asked the boys their names.

When Kyle told the president his name, Lonaberger said, Bush responded, " "That's the same thing you told me before!' ''

Lonaberger said he liked Bush before the meeting, but came away liking him even more.

"It was pretty cool,'' Lonaberger confessed. "He is really down to earth, a really nice guy...He treated me not like a voter, but a person...I was impressed.''

Lonaberger said the president gave a brief speech about the new tax break, adding that the checks are being sent to families to pump money back into the economy.

The Narvon family plans to spend their money on remodeling their kitchen, "something we've been planning for a year or two,'' Lonaberger said.

The entire event will give the Lonabergers a lot to talk about at a family reunion this weekend, Lonaberger said, and for Kyle, at his baseball team's picnic on Monday.

"It was exciting,'' Kyle said, after all "not everybody gets to meet the president.''


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