Monthly Archives: November 2010

Parades

Late last spring and into the summer months I wrote a handful of blog posts that I never published.  I am sure I did this intentionally as we were in campaign mode and I was a little paranoid…or protective…. or tired of being in the fish bowl…. Anyway, none of it matters now that the Senator’s campaign has successfully come to a close, so I thought I would share some of my tales from the trail…

July 3, 2010

Every 4th of July, the City of Bethany, Oklahoma holds a parade to celebrate our Independence.  Let me first say that Bethany is straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting and the people who live there are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Truly kind, salt of the earth type people.  Excellent schools, churches, businesses….it is old world and all good.  Unlike political fundraisers, I happen to actually look forward to participating in the Bethany parade… maybe because of my first parade experience eight years ago.

It all started when the Senator and I purchased the opportunity to borrow an antique fire truck for a day.  We bought this as a silent auction item at the Bethany Public School Foundation’s fundraiser and decided to ask the owner if he might like to drive it for the 4th of July Parade.  That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?  Anyway, it turned out to be such a wonderful idea and a huge hit on the campaign trail.  Of course, you can imagine the fire truck full of our friends and volunteers….men, women and children wearing campaign t-shirts and red, white and blue beads, throwing candy into the crowd.  The Senator and I walked behind the truck and were followed by two volunteers carrying our banner with the Senator’s logo and his eye-catching logo’d pick up truck trailing behind.


My college age cousin, who had been assisting the Senator out door knocking, was driving the campaign truck with another good friend who we shall refer to as ‘the mouth of the south’.  He earned this distinctive title during this actual parade experience for the following reason…. You see, the ‘mouth,’ had been sitting in the truck with a stereo and megaphone blaring Lee Greenwood’s Proud to Be An American for the crowd to enjoy.   In between, he would shout out ‘vote for Branan for State Senate’ over and over again.  It was loud and fun and effective.

The memories from that day still bring a smile to my face. Well, except for the fact that after the parade I was loading the kids in the car and noticed one of my earrings was missing.  Not just any earring, but a little diamond stud that the Senator had given me shortly before he proposed.  I opted to not mention this to him…..until he found it in his truck several months later.  I don’t think I’ll be wearing any jewelry this year….just comfortable shoes.

Here are some actual photos from this year’s Bethany Parade….toward the end it poured down rain.


  1. Group photo before the parade… 

     

 

 

 


Here comes the rain little darlin’……..
The Senator loves to stop and talk to folks along the way…..
Even if it is raining………
Until we took refuge in the covered wagon of our State Auditor……

Let’s just say I am extremely thankful that we will not be marching in any Thanksgiving Day parade this year.  The temperature in my great state is expected to reach a high of 24 degrees……..


SW

More Tales from the Trail…

June 5, 2010

The Senator’s fundraiser was fabulously fun. They always are – but that will never change the fact that I am apprehensive each and every time.  I suppose in my eight years of being a Senator’s wife, I have realized that when a candidate has the support of many people, these events are enjoyable.  But, when the candidate is running and not many are following…that is when they become uncomfortable…at least for me anyway.

This week, however has been full of stress.  On Monday, the Senator officially filed to run for re-election.  The first time he did this eight years ago, we went to the Capitol all dressed up with our children and a camera. Once we got there, we quickly realized that the check which accompanies the document had to be a cashiers check and that the official paper he was filing had to be notarized.  Oops.  Of course we panicked and scrambled and ran to the closest bank where these details were quickly completed.

This time around, the Senator went by himself and turned the forms in without any pomp and circumstance. No wife, no children….no camera. Meanwhile, I was at home glued to my computer, watching the screen to see who else would step up to the plate and take the Senator on….

We knew there was a lady out there on the horizon planning on challenging the Senator.  We had heard about her back in March.  However, this year as with every election cycle there are winds of change blowing through the electorate which will motivate various individuals to enter into public service.  Eight years ago the Senator had just opened his own small business and was angry at the bureaucratic red tape that impeded economic success in our state.  He had no idea who he would be running against or why, only that the incumbent had chosen to retire and the senate seat was being vacated.

This year, there is a strong anti-incumbent mood in the air………we’ll see.

Regardless, the Senator is locked and loaded and ready to continue his fight for a more prosperous future. (Just a little political rhetoric for your amusement!)

SW

Advance

During the brief amount of time that I spent in Dallas I met some amazing people.  There were former ambassadors, cabinet members, chiefs of staff, public relation guru’s and former employees of the former President of the United States.  He was celebrating the groundbreaking of his Presidential Library with 3,000 of his closest friends and it seemed rather fitting that they all showed up for the party.

Prior to the ceremony, I was sitting with my sister-in-law and some of her friends from Washington D.C. in the big tent.  That big one pictured below.

One of these guys worked for the former President as part of the Advance Team.   I know, I know, I asked the same thing….just exactly what is Advance?

Evidently, the Advance team is made up of the people who do all the prep work before a Presidential trip.  They take care of all the details and logistics and security for the President’s arrival at any given place?

Anyway, while we were waiting for the groundbreaking ceremony to start, my sister-in-law’s friend Greg, the Advance man, (pictured immediately to my right) asked us if we noticed anything wrong with the stage.

Seriously? The stage looked really nice….large….Presidential and perfect.  Are you kidding me?  There is nothing wrong with that stage.  Really?

“Yes,” Greg said.  Something was seriously wrong with the set up and ‘heads were gonna roll’ over it.

Forgive the poor quality of my Nikon Coolpix, but do you notice anything terribly incorrect?

None of us could spot it – and I was sitting with people who have been in this type of situation many times before.  Thank goodness for that, but do you see it?

Just to give you an insiders perspective, it has nothing to do with the chairs (which are hard to see anyway) or with the podium.

Anyone?  Anyone?