On the road to DNC 2008

At long last, we’re a mile high.
After crossing Republican River, and passing Democrat Road, we knew we had to be getting close.
The seven hours spent in an eight-passenger, tiger-adorned bus were long ones, made even more tedious by seemingly ridiculous Map Quest directions, leading us on a “scenic route” through the middle of nowhere.
Or maybe it was my inept skills as navigator that made the trip more difficult.
Anyway, the point is we made it, and are gearing up for what we all expect to be an unforgettable week.

2008: voyage out of red state chianti

Election night:2004. This was shaping up to be a delightful night. My son-in-law and daughter had prepared another spaghetti dinner. This time, it was THE dinner. Previous dinners had been shared while watching presidential debates. But now, America would speak…..we would say, enough war, enough pushing the agenda of major oil companies, enough stupidification of the English language. We would select John Kerry (or Ralph Nader) as our new president. It wouldn’t solve all of America’s problems nor would it really do much more than symbolize that we, as a country, would dispense with selling our civil rights to drive a Hummer, cheap.

So the results started coming in, at first they looked pretty good. And then, not so good. I opened a box of chianti, and hoped that things would look better…..and they didn’t. But at least I couldn’t focus on the little red state vs. blue state icons as well. My headache continued well into the third day following the election. My gut ache lasted well into the third year.

Now it’s finally 2008. There is no candidate that pleases Dr. Dobson. That pleases me. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to experience the Democratic National Convention this summer…to speak to delegates, see the protesters, soak up the optimism of the crowds that will dare to hope for change.