OK, here's the real deal:
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Convention DVDs
Friday, September 14, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
They Also Serve...
but the extent of their standing & waiting was when they were looking for someone else to help.
I'm talking about the Convention Volunteers, without whom I would not have had nearly as enjoyable a DNC experience.
I badly miscalculated how far apart the various venues were in Charlotte and returned to the hotel after the first night exhausted and in pain. I figured I'd take it easy Wednesday and just recuperate until the gavel at 5:00. By 2:00 that afternoon I was frantic - I wasn't "bouncing back" and I sure wasn't gonna miss that evening's session! A member of my delegation suggested to me that I try to get a wheelchair at the arena - so I gritted my teeth and caught the bus from my hotel to the arena.
When we disembarked at the arena stop, a volunteer noticed my difficulty getting off the bus and called for a wheelchair before I could even ask for one. The volunteer wheeled me to the first security checkpoint, then when I got through security, put me on a golf-cart-like shuttle to the actual arena entrance, where I got into another wheelchair and we were off!
The arena was packed with folks milling around outside the seating area. Jacqui, my driver, first tried to seat me with the AL delegation but there was no room. So back into the crowd we went. She asked me "Are you keeping the chair?" and I replied that I didn't know I could. She said yes, all I had to do was leave my driver's license and I could sit in the chair for the proceedings, then someone would return and pick me up. So bless her, she maneuvered expertly to another set of exit doors and to the table where I filled out a really basic form, handed over my drivers license, and got in return a card so I could contact them if I needed to be picked up before we'd planned:
Back into the mass of folks we went. More about where I ended up & the rest of the evening in my Wednesday Night post.
Sure enough, right after President Clinton finished speaking, there was Jacqui at my shoulder, asking if I was ready to leave and then expertly navigating to Guest Services so we could retrieve my license. When we got to the line for the elevator, I thanked her profusely and handed her some Mardi Gras beads as a token from a south Alabama fan!
Wednesday evening had gone so well, I really didn't expect any problem on Thursday. And despite the tighter security, and more folks trying to get into the arena, there were glitches but no real problems. I encountered a hiccup at the arena entrance, where I asked to rent a chair and walked into a conversation between a volunteer coordinator and another delegate. The coordinator was explaining that under the arena rules as explained to them after the previous evening, the volunteers could wheel us to our seat location, drop us off, and then come back and get us. If we wanted to rent the chair for the evening, we were on our own as far as getting in and out of the arena. He was very pleasant, very apologetic, but was standing his ground despite significant pushback from the other delegate. She was escalating her complaint when an empty wheelchair arrived. I quickly cancelled my rental in favor of a ride to my seat, reasoning I had handled the arena seats on Tuesday and as this was the last night of the convention, I could do it again. So off we went.
As we got off the elevator, here came my new friend Jacqui. First she was telling the volunteer helping me that she'd helped me the night before, next thing I knew she'd taken me over! Asked me if I wanted to keep the chair again, and when I started explaining what I'd been told, told me we'd just see about that! The upshot was she took me to a great spot on the rail below the CNN booth and left me in the chair - came back after the confetti dropped!
So from me and on behalf of the countless other delegates who were recipients of your warm and gracious help, THANK YOU, Convention Volunteers. Speaking only for myself, I literally don't know what I'd have done without you.
I badly miscalculated how far apart the various venues were in Charlotte and returned to the hotel after the first night exhausted and in pain. I figured I'd take it easy Wednesday and just recuperate until the gavel at 5:00. By 2:00 that afternoon I was frantic - I wasn't "bouncing back" and I sure wasn't gonna miss that evening's session! A member of my delegation suggested to me that I try to get a wheelchair at the arena - so I gritted my teeth and caught the bus from my hotel to the arena.
When we disembarked at the arena stop, a volunteer noticed my difficulty getting off the bus and called for a wheelchair before I could even ask for one. The volunteer wheeled me to the first security checkpoint, then when I got through security, put me on a golf-cart-like shuttle to the actual arena entrance, where I got into another wheelchair and we were off!
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| Read more about the volunteers here: http://bit.ly/NjkjnO |
The arena was packed with folks milling around outside the seating area. Jacqui, my driver, first tried to seat me with the AL delegation but there was no room. So back into the crowd we went. She asked me "Are you keeping the chair?" and I replied that I didn't know I could. She said yes, all I had to do was leave my driver's license and I could sit in the chair for the proceedings, then someone would return and pick me up. So bless her, she maneuvered expertly to another set of exit doors and to the table where I filled out a really basic form, handed over my drivers license, and got in return a card so I could contact them if I needed to be picked up before we'd planned:
Back into the mass of folks we went. More about where I ended up & the rest of the evening in my Wednesday Night post.
Sure enough, right after President Clinton finished speaking, there was Jacqui at my shoulder, asking if I was ready to leave and then expertly navigating to Guest Services so we could retrieve my license. When we got to the line for the elevator, I thanked her profusely and handed her some Mardi Gras beads as a token from a south Alabama fan!
Wednesday evening had gone so well, I really didn't expect any problem on Thursday. And despite the tighter security, and more folks trying to get into the arena, there were glitches but no real problems. I encountered a hiccup at the arena entrance, where I asked to rent a chair and walked into a conversation between a volunteer coordinator and another delegate. The coordinator was explaining that under the arena rules as explained to them after the previous evening, the volunteers could wheel us to our seat location, drop us off, and then come back and get us. If we wanted to rent the chair for the evening, we were on our own as far as getting in and out of the arena. He was very pleasant, very apologetic, but was standing his ground despite significant pushback from the other delegate. She was escalating her complaint when an empty wheelchair arrived. I quickly cancelled my rental in favor of a ride to my seat, reasoning I had handled the arena seats on Tuesday and as this was the last night of the convention, I could do it again. So off we went.
As we got off the elevator, here came my new friend Jacqui. First she was telling the volunteer helping me that she'd helped me the night before, next thing I knew she'd taken me over! Asked me if I wanted to keep the chair again, and when I started explaining what I'd been told, told me we'd just see about that! The upshot was she took me to a great spot on the rail below the CNN booth and left me in the chair - came back after the confetti dropped!
So from me and on behalf of the countless other delegates who were recipients of your warm and gracious help, THANK YOU, Convention Volunteers. Speaking only for myself, I literally don't know what I'd have done without you.
The Most Under-reported Speech
on Thursday, because folks were focusing on John Kerry, and Biden, and our President.
Rep. John Lewis's speech was not long, but he made every word count. He spoke quietly and forcefully, telling the story of being one of the members of the first group of Freedom Riders and he and 2 others were savagely beaten at a bus station in Rock Hill SC. In Lewis's own words:
Referring to the recent Republican efforts to suppress the vote:
Watch it. It's well worth the 7 minutes it takes.
* The pre-speech transcript has him saying "This man and I don’t want to go back; we want to move forward" but when he delivered the speech Rep. Lewis said "This man and I don’t want to go back; we don't want to go back" and truthfully, I think it was more powerful.
A few years ago, a man from Rock Hill, inspired by President Obama’s election, decided to come forward. He came to my office in Washington and said, ‘I am one of the people who beat you. I want to apologize. Will you forgive me?’ I said, ‘I accept your apology.’ He started crying. He gave me a hug. I hugged him back, and we both started crying. This man and I don’t want to go back; we don't want to go back.*
Referring to the recent Republican efforts to suppress the vote:
I’ve seen this before. I’ve lived this before. Too many people struggled, suffered and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote.
Watch it. It's well worth the 7 minutes it takes.
* The pre-speech transcript has him saying "This man and I don’t want to go back; we want to move forward" but when he delivered the speech Rep. Lewis said "This man and I don’t want to go back; we don't want to go back" and truthfully, I think it was more powerful.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Home again, home again
I got in VERY late Thursday night/Friday morning and then traveled all day yesterday - I promise more updates in the next few days but for now THANK YOU for making it possible for me to be there.
When we signed our names as delegates on Tuesday night, a fellow member of the delegation reminded me that I was voting on behalf of 30,000 Alabamians. I am so grateful for your trust and support!
When we signed our names as delegates on Tuesday night, a fellow member of the delegation reminded me that I was voting on behalf of 30,000 Alabamians. I am so grateful for your trust and support!
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