There is a first time for everything and so it was for my husband and me last weekend when we journeyed from Wilmington, NC to Manchester, NH to join the thousands of people there and to show support for our candidate, John Edwards.
I'll never forget the sights and sounds, the excitement in the air and the stunning beauty of this small New England city. Nor will I forget the friendly local people who made our trip even more fun. As an added bonus, seeing the Merrimack Restaurant, so famous to politicians and political junkies, was like seeing a famous monument.
Now to the story of being feet on the street and loving every minute of it!
We weren't quite sure what to expect when we agreed to spend Saturday afternoon canvassing door to door for John. We were talking to undecided voters in a town with which we were unfamiliar, anything could happen, but we figured we're resourceful, so off we went. Other than the one crabby man who yelled "get the hell outta here", which we quickly did, we found ourselves amazed at how well informed the NH voters are. They asked pointed questions and were eager to share their thoughts. We came away with a new understanding of just how important Iowa and New Hampshire are. The residents of those two states hold an immense amount of power in their hands in terms of their influence in selecting our party's nominee and next President. Thankfully, those folks take that responsibility seriously and give their best efforts to hearing and seeing all who come.
By that evening we learned that the CNN staff and Senator Joe Biden were staying in our hotel, in fact we met Senator Biden as he was coming off the elevator. We shook hands, he was very nice to us, so I figured I should say something nice to him since we had John Edwards buttons on our shirts. What I came up with wasn't the best, telling him he was "purtier" in person but hey, I didn't have any time to plan! We met Bill Schneider, John Roberts and saw Anderson Cooper but darned if we didn't miss the Larry King sighting, lol! Oh well, you can't have everything.
One more day until the day!
Debate day, Sunday, June 3. Finally!
Tingly anticipation, a few nerves and cold rain. Well, we went to support John and cheer him on so that's exactly what we and about 200 others did. Supporters from all over the country, young and old, were there, ready to rock and roll, holler and scream and let everyone know we were representin'!
The ace NH campaign team had everything planned so well including decorating cars, decorating a school bus to transport us to St. Anselm College, site of the debate, balloons, signs, and our very own drum corps! Not only that, they rented a private citizen's front yard and hoisted a huge banner on a crane for John and Elizabeth to see along the route to the college. That's ingenuity!
The press were everywhere, supporters for all candidates flooded the campus, and so did we.
Finally came the moment we were waiting for, John's arrival. Cue the drum corps, converge on the vehicle! One of the things I love about John Edwards is that he's one of the people. He was that day as well... he hopped out of the car and walked with us! In the rain, on his way to the debate. Everyone went nuts.
After John was inside the hall, we turned our large crowd around to exit the campus, the drum corps leading the way. Barum pum pum, barum pum pum, along the driveway we went, still cheering, until the cop told us to stop as we were in the press truck area and interfering with a few broadcasts being taped. Unfortunately the drummers couldn't hear him and kept beating those drums until the cop got right in the lead drummer's face and screamed, "enough already with the drums!!" That did it, we all fell apart laughing, then started to "sshhh" our way by the press, who by then were cracking up as well.
We made it to a restaurant that had been reserved for a debate watch party just in time. Wet, cold, tired, hungry and completely exhilarated and happy, we ate, cheered and focused in on John's wonderful performance.
When it was over the guest of honor, John Edwards, joined us to thank us for coming and to accept our congratulations on the job he did that evening.
I'll never forget the experience we had in New Hampshire and, we are ready to travel and be boots on the ground again!