Wednesday, September 08, 2004
John Kerry was in Greensboro and I was there!
It was an amazing time and I'm so glad I got to go. It all started on Saturday, 9/4, when I took some extra Kerry/Edwards supplies to the Democrat Headquarters in Greensboro. They were all abuzz and told me Kerry was probably coming to town. They asked if I worked (yes) and if I could get off on a Tuesday on short notice (yes). They didn't know which Tuesday he'd be here. They put my name on a list and that was that. I emailed my boss requesting every Tuesday up to the election as vacation. (We have a good relationship; I'm sure he would've done it even though he's a Republican!) I planned to work them, of course, unless it was the day.
Sunday, I got a call telling me to pick up my ticket on Monday, that he was to be here on Tuesday, 9/7! Woo hoo! I picked up my ticket and was ready to go. Folks told me to be there early, so I was... very early. The doors were to open at 9:00 AM and only 600 people were allowed to attend. Tickets were required, but seating was mostly first-come, first-served. I got there at 6:30 AM and, yes, I was the first ticketed attendee. Some volunteers were already working. I stepped inside for a few minutes, watching the final preparations and the media setting up and doing live shots. Then I went to where the line would form, swiped a chair from nearby, had a seat and read a book. Lots of folks actually thought I was with the campaign. I liked it. My scrolling LED badge (from Street Tags) was a major hit. So many people asked me about it and I referred them to the website. I oughta get a commission!
I spoke with so many people and actually enjoyed it. A couple of little old ladies, sisters no less, managed to get to the front of the line. Manners ain't dead in the South; I let them in front of me. They were so excited and were even written about in an article or two. About five minutes before the doors were opened, an event coordinator pulled another man and me aside. She needed a couple of blue tickets and offered us red ones in return. The red ones were for the VIP section! You should've seen my grin! I'm grinning right now!
Once I got in, I was able to take a seat in the second row, right in the center of the stage area. I called my mother to tell her what was going on. She was thrilled and she also won a bet with her husband. He didn't think I'd be able to get there, but Jules knows her son! The front row was reserved by name for various people, including Vanessa Kerry (John's daughter) and Cam Kerry (his brother). Both were right in front of me! Vanessa autographed my ticket, too.
I'll not write about his speech; that's already been done by professionals. However, briefly, he delivered a typical (but good) stump speech and then took questions from the audience. He impressed me in answering the questions. Most politicians, when answering a question, speak very little to answer the question. Rather, they use it as a springboard to speak about what they want to say. Kerry did this, too, BUT he then finished the answer by directly addressing the content of the question. That was very good in my system of values.
I could go on and on and totally bore you to tears, but I don't have the time and I'm sure you don't want every single detail! It all boils down to this: I was voting for John Kerry because I don't want Bush in office. Now I'm voting for John Kerry because I want John Kerry in office.
More snapshots are located here.
It was an amazing time and I'm so glad I got to go. It all started on Saturday, 9/4, when I took some extra Kerry/Edwards supplies to the Democrat Headquarters in Greensboro. They were all abuzz and told me Kerry was probably coming to town. They asked if I worked (yes) and if I could get off on a Tuesday on short notice (yes). They didn't know which Tuesday he'd be here. They put my name on a list and that was that. I emailed my boss requesting every Tuesday up to the election as vacation. (We have a good relationship; I'm sure he would've done it even though he's a Republican!) I planned to work them, of course, unless it was the day.
Sunday, I got a call telling me to pick up my ticket on Monday, that he was to be here on Tuesday, 9/7! Woo hoo! I picked up my ticket and was ready to go. Folks told me to be there early, so I was... very early. The doors were to open at 9:00 AM and only 600 people were allowed to attend. Tickets were required, but seating was mostly first-come, first-served. I got there at 6:30 AM and, yes, I was the first ticketed attendee. Some volunteers were already working. I stepped inside for a few minutes, watching the final preparations and the media setting up and doing live shots. Then I went to where the line would form, swiped a chair from nearby, had a seat and read a book. Lots of folks actually thought I was with the campaign. I liked it. My scrolling LED badge (from Street Tags) was a major hit. So many people asked me about it and I referred them to the website. I oughta get a commission!
I spoke with so many people and actually enjoyed it. A couple of little old ladies, sisters no less, managed to get to the front of the line. Manners ain't dead in the South; I let them in front of me. They were so excited and were even written about in an article or two. About five minutes before the doors were opened, an event coordinator pulled another man and me aside. She needed a couple of blue tickets and offered us red ones in return. The red ones were for the VIP section! You should've seen my grin! I'm grinning right now!
Once I got in, I was able to take a seat in the second row, right in the center of the stage area. I called my mother to tell her what was going on. She was thrilled and she also won a bet with her husband. He didn't think I'd be able to get there, but Jules knows her son! The front row was reserved by name for various people, including Vanessa Kerry (John's daughter) and Cam Kerry (his brother). Both were right in front of me! Vanessa autographed my ticket, too.
I'll not write about his speech; that's already been done by professionals. However, briefly, he delivered a typical (but good) stump speech and then took questions from the audience. He impressed me in answering the questions. Most politicians, when answering a question, speak very little to answer the question. Rather, they use it as a springboard to speak about what they want to say. Kerry did this, too, BUT he then finished the answer by directly addressing the content of the question. That was very good in my system of values.
I could go on and on and totally bore you to tears, but I don't have the time and I'm sure you don't want every single detail! It all boils down to this: I was voting for John Kerry because I don't want Bush in office. Now I'm voting for John Kerry because I want John Kerry in office.
More snapshots are located here.
All contents of samiam.com are Copyright 2004, 2005, 2006 by S. A. "Sam" Moore unless otherwise attributed.
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