Hokey smoke, Bullwinkle!
The Obama Rally yesterday was....unfreakingbelievable! Can a 39-year-old say that?
My 61-year-old mom, my 11-year-old daughter and I stood outside in the cold for two hours waiting to get into Savage Hall. Fortunately it was sunny and not bitterly cold, so that helped!
I was not sure about taking DD to something like this -- it's a great experience but I knew it would be crowded and entail a lot of standing. I was SO GLAD we brought her.
Those of you who read/heard the local stories know that the crowd is estimated to have been 10,000, with 5,000 turned away. We did manage to get inside...there were four people between us and the metal detectors when all the lines just stopped. I thought, "Oh, nuts! We got this far and they're going to send us away."
Well, we didn't get into the arena itself, but we did get the Standing Room, which was a CRUSH of humanity in the lobby of Savage Hall. They took down all the gates and just got as many people as they could into the lobby...they set up speakers, a stage, and a microphone. And he came and talked to US first! :-) One of the regional campaign managers explained that the Hall was already past capacity, but that Barack would come out and talk to us in the lobby before he started his official presentation inside.
We were packed in like sardines and thank God I'm not claustrophobic. But everyone was just so happy to be there, and so CHARGED by the potential for change and history in the making, it didn't matter.
There were only about two "rows" of people....or about six individuals between my daughter and I, and the stage area. When Barack came out, the placed just exploded. It was like a rock concert! lol And I was TWO armlengths away from him. I got a few pictures; I think three are salvagable if I crop and tweak them. But Barack apologized for not being able to get us inside, thanked us all for our support and encouragement, encouraged us to Vote Early (Ohio has early voting -- our primary's not till March 4 but we can vote at the elections office starting today). He talked to us for about five minutes and the couple-thousand people in the lobby all started chanting "Yes, we can!" as he went around the perimeter of the crowd and shook hands (with four young and stony faced Secret Service guys towering around him).
We had the option of staying in the lobby, as the address was going to be piped out to us, but my DD -- who enjoyed the experience but, being an introvert, was worn out -- was tired. So we left. :( I didn't get to hear any of the speech. If I'd been by myself, I'd probably have stood along the walls and listened to what he had to say. But I have signed up to volunteer for his campaign...so I may be holding up signs on a streetcorner or standing outside a polling place on March 4. :)
It's been a long, long time since I've been THIS jazzed about a campaign or election. Different is good. Change is good. We are IN history. It is happening NOW. My DD is very interested in the campaign. She loves history and social studies, and she has a special love for civil rights and equality. I told her as we were leaving, "You just saw the man who is probably going to be the next President of the United States and who is going to make history as the first black President of the United States. This is just an incredible, incredible thing." And I'm proud of her for insisting that she be allowed to come and for sticking it out for all that time for so short of an event (for us anyway).
All righty....gotta hit the showers. Client meeting at noon. Stocking up for impending blizzard afterward.
My 61-year-old mom, my 11-year-old daughter and I stood outside in the cold for two hours waiting to get into Savage Hall. Fortunately it was sunny and not bitterly cold, so that helped!
I was not sure about taking DD to something like this -- it's a great experience but I knew it would be crowded and entail a lot of standing. I was SO GLAD we brought her.
Those of you who read/heard the local stories know that the crowd is estimated to have been 10,000, with 5,000 turned away. We did manage to get inside...there were four people between us and the metal detectors when all the lines just stopped. I thought, "Oh, nuts! We got this far and they're going to send us away."
Well, we didn't get into the arena itself, but we did get the Standing Room, which was a CRUSH of humanity in the lobby of Savage Hall. They took down all the gates and just got as many people as they could into the lobby...they set up speakers, a stage, and a microphone. And he came and talked to US first! :-) One of the regional campaign managers explained that the Hall was already past capacity, but that Barack would come out and talk to us in the lobby before he started his official presentation inside.
We were packed in like sardines and thank God I'm not claustrophobic. But everyone was just so happy to be there, and so CHARGED by the potential for change and history in the making, it didn't matter.
There were only about two "rows" of people....or about six individuals between my daughter and I, and the stage area. When Barack came out, the placed just exploded. It was like a rock concert! lol And I was TWO armlengths away from him. I got a few pictures; I think three are salvagable if I crop and tweak them. But Barack apologized for not being able to get us inside, thanked us all for our support and encouragement, encouraged us to Vote Early (Ohio has early voting -- our primary's not till March 4 but we can vote at the elections office starting today). He talked to us for about five minutes and the couple-thousand people in the lobby all started chanting "Yes, we can!" as he went around the perimeter of the crowd and shook hands (with four young and stony faced Secret Service guys towering around him).
We had the option of staying in the lobby, as the address was going to be piped out to us, but my DD -- who enjoyed the experience but, being an introvert, was worn out -- was tired. So we left. :( I didn't get to hear any of the speech. If I'd been by myself, I'd probably have stood along the walls and listened to what he had to say. But I have signed up to volunteer for his campaign...so I may be holding up signs on a streetcorner or standing outside a polling place on March 4. :)
It's been a long, long time since I've been THIS jazzed about a campaign or election. Different is good. Change is good. We are IN history. It is happening NOW. My DD is very interested in the campaign. She loves history and social studies, and she has a special love for civil rights and equality. I told her as we were leaving, "You just saw the man who is probably going to be the next President of the United States and who is going to make history as the first black President of the United States. This is just an incredible, incredible thing." And I'm proud of her for insisting that she be allowed to come and for sticking it out for all that time for so short of an event (for us anyway).
All righty....gotta hit the showers. Client meeting at noon. Stocking up for impending blizzard afterward.