It is 5:00 am on the day of the primary election in my great state.  Thank goodness the Senator does not have a primary opponent, for if he did, I would not be in front of the computer.  In fact, if he did, I would not be home at all. You see, on the morning of any election day a candidate’s work begins in the wee hours of the morning.

During the Senator’s first ever campaign eight years ago, on the eve of what had turned into a heated six way primary, the Senator and I had assembled our friends, a.k.a. political rookies like us, to put up signs near the polling locations in his district.  Yes, don’t say it.  I know what you’re thinking and I agree. These signs clutter the landscape, drive people nuts, and irritate the city who eventually sweeps them up, but I assure you they are vitally important for political candidates in obtaining some election day name identification with the casual voter.  Trust me, if they weren’t significant, the vast amount of time and money would not be wasted on them.  T-R-U-S-T me.

Signs speak, and putting up those last minute, election day signs is an important part of the political game.

So, what we learned on the morning of August 27th, 2002, was that we had put up our signs…..WAY too early.  How do I know this?  Because the Senator and I drove around the key polling places between 5:00 and 6:00 am to check on our signs, and they were all GONE.  Vanished. Disappeared…..Just like that.

No, they were not swept up by the City…..

No, they did not blow away………

Yes, there were lots of signs up…other people’s signs.

Yes, we had put these signs up the night before…..which was plenty of time for them to be quickly and quietly removed by our opposition…

This is true….and, I am still searching for the photo we took when we discovered several of our large signs all wadded up in a public dumpster….which made me want to go home and cry, but you can’t.  You simply have to laugh it off because at that point, what can you do?

Seriously, a healthy perspective and good sense of humor are key in playing the political sign game or it can easily take your campaign off message.  The other side plays dirty regardless of who it is and your signs will still magically disappear.  Which is why, if the Senator was on the ballot today, we would be driving around guarding our signs and ensuring their strategic placement….until the polls open at 7:00 am.

More election day stories to follow…..

SW

I knew there would be days like this.  Days where there simply are not enough waking hours to complete all the tasks that need to be done.  Today I wrote a 4th of July letter, created a push card, took our son to his work out, took our daughter to cheer, shopped for ‘campaign walking clothes’, picked our daughter up, brought our son lunch, lined up a photo shoot, worked on a 4th of July parade, did some laundry and tidied up the kitchen….of course, too busy multi-tasking to remember to run the dishwasher, but by golly it is loaded to the brim!

Meet Mike, Pete, Joel, Dan and Dan’s lovely wife ( at least I think that is Dan’s wife).  They are combat veterans who I had the good fortune of meeting up with during a recent trip to Washington D.C.

Pete, Joel and Dan are cycling across the country to raise money and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project.  I think they were a little tired. (Note Joel’s tan line in the photo.)

While they were in D.C. they spent some time visiting with actual wounded soldiers up at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  Which is where Mike comes in.

Mike is a wounded combat soldier and was sent back home from Iraq in pieces.  You would never know that by looking at him because you are instantly charmed by his smile and dashing personality.  But, Mike is home now and learning how to put all the pieces back together….literally and figuratively speaking.  My brother and sister-in-law first befriended Mike while volunteering up at Walter Reed.  Now, a trip to D.C. to visit my brother also includes getting to see Mike.  Mike is like family now.  He even refers to me as his aunt. (And, upon reading my post phoned to tell me I left out a description of his handsome good looks!)

I told you he was charming.

Pete, Joel and Dan met Mike on the day they were visiting wounded soldiers up at Walter Reed and found Mike’s story to be one of heroism and bravery. They also ran into Mike later that evening at a famous restaurant across from the White House where I had joined up with my brother, sister-in-law and Mike for dinner.  Hence the photo of these four soldiers reunited again.

I have such tremendous respect for our soldiers, both past and present who have served our country with honor and distinction and fought to protect and preserve our freedom.  We are equally blessed to have so many soldiers like Mike, Pete, Joel and Dan.  They are fine examples of the brave men and women in uniform today and I sincerely thank them.

I thank them for their sacrifices and their service to our country.  Because I know that freedom isn’t free.

“Happy America, Land peculiarly Blest:  Long may it continue thus, under an all glorious Providence.”  Abigail Adams in a letter to her husband, John. December 12, 1794


Happy Independence Day America!
SW