{"conversationCode":"880-008","tapeNumber":880,"conversationNumber":8,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-880-008","startDateTime":"1973-03-15T17:26:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-03-15T17:35:00.000Z","startDate":"15-Mar-1973","startTime":"12:26 PM","endDate":"15-Mar-1973","endTime":"12:35 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Friedersdorf, Max L.; Ploch, Debbie; Collins, James M.;","description":"On March 15, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Max L. Friedersdorf, Debbie Ploch, and James M. Collins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:26 pm to 12:35 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 880-008 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":"5.4","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part IV","chronReleaseDate":"8-Dec-2010","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 880-8\n\nDate: March 15, 1973\nTime: 12:26 pm-12:35 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Debbie Ploch, James M. Collins and Max L. Friedersdorf. The White\nHouse photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.\n\n       Introductions\n             -Family\n\n       Photographs\n\n       Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon\n\n       [Sirikit, Queen of Thailand] Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara\n             -Attributors\n             -Miss World contest\n             -Ploch's trip to Southeast Asia\n\n[Photograph session]\n\n       State visit by [Bhumibol, King of Thailand] Bhumibol Adulyadej\n             -Visit to White House\n             -Message for Queen Sirikit\n\n       Ploch’s teaching career\n            -English\n            -Spanish\n\n       Cotton Bowl\n            -Football game\n                 -Texas, Oklahoma\n\n       Gifts\n\f                                          10-\n                     NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                   Conversation No. 880-8 (cont’d)\n\n        Oval Office\n             -Mrs. Nixon's input\n             -Curtains\n                    -Color television [TV]\n             -Painting of White House\n                    -Great Britain\n             -Portrait of George Washington\n\n        Rose Garden\n             -Tricia Nixon Cox's wedding\n             -Flowers\n\n        Ploch's plans\n              -Marriage\n                    -President’s future grandchildren\n\n        Chinese vase\n             -Value\n             -Jade\n             -Age\n             -Inscription\n\n        Prisoners of war [POWs]\n\n        Ploch's trip to Far East\n              -Experiences\n                     -People\n              -Sale of cotton from US\n                     -Necessity\n\n        Crewelwork by Julie Nixon Eisenhower\n\n        President's daughters\n              -Middle names\n\n        Ploch's middle name\n\nPloch, et al., left at 12:35 pm.\n\f                                        11-\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                 Conversation No. 880-9 (cont’d)","filename":["880-008.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Friedersdorf, Max L.","Ploch, Debbie","Collins, James M."],"prevCode":"880-007","nextCode":"880-009","transcript":[{"start":3.02,"end":3.52,"text":"Are you?"},{"start":3.96,"end":4.36,"text":"Are you?"},{"start":100.89,"end":103.8,"text":"I'm looking at you, and I'm coming over to your basement, and in fact, we were..."},{"start":149.69,"end":150.21,"text":"very well."},{"start":150.23,"end":151.96,"text":"Yeah, that one was really good."},{"start":151.98,"end":152.53,"text":"It was a"},{"start":187.19,"end":188.53,"text":"This is done so that you"},{"start":230.91,"end":235.81,"text":"100 years ago before they built the wings on it."},{"start":264.62,"end":265.78,"text":"She was married."},{"start":268.48,"end":272.77,"text":"You don't plan to get married this year."},{"start":273.33,"end":274.07,"text":"Uh-huh."},{"start":274.19,"end":275.13,"text":"Uh-huh."},{"start":275.49,"end":277.85,"text":"Oh, well, I don't know."},{"start":277.89,"end":280.13,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":280.27,"end":281.19,"text":"I don't know."},{"start":300.12,"end":307.59,"text":"It's basically the name of Jesus."},{"start":307.63,"end":317.52,"text":"This is the fifth century before Christ."},{"start":317.62,"end":321.42,"text":"And there's only one life in the world."},{"start":323.68,"end":337.38,"text":"It means all the earth desires something."},{"start":355.69,"end":362.11,"text":"This thing, this is money you can't really judge."},{"start":362.29,"end":364.81,"text":"Probably, probably in terms of..."},{"start":400.67,"end":406.65,"text":"Go to the parties and see all those countries."},{"start":408.34,"end":408.78,"text":"Everything."},{"start":408.94,"end":410.26,"text":"Oh, you do a great job."},{"start":410.82,"end":411.52,"text":"You're most of them."},{"start":466.2,"end":466.64,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":466.88,"end":468.14,"text":"Thank you."},{"start":470.18,"end":470.48,"text":"Thank you."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon met with Max Friedersdorf, James Collins, and Debbie Ploch for a social visit and photo session in the Oval Office. The discussion covered a wide range of informal topics, including Ploch’s teaching career, her recent travels to Southeast Asia, and the upcoming state visit by the King and Queen of Thailand. Additionally, the group conversed about various personal interests such as the history of White House decor, family anecdotes, and the significance of a Chinese jade vase.","topics":["Oval Office protocol","Thai royalty","White House decor","Debbie Ploch","Social diplomacy"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-08T23:01:07.518Z"},"topicSlugs":["oval-office-protocol","thai-royalty","white-house-decor","debbie-ploch","social-diplomacy"],"audioDurationSec":521,"audioFiles":[{"file":"880-008.mp3","bytes":3835904,"durationSec":521.19,"bitrate":58879,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:20:02.068Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:54.160Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/880-008.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/880-008","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/880/conversation-880-008","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}