Hail, Hail the Gang's all Here

My family is coming into town. Hooray! It has become a tradition that my mom and sisters come and visit the first weekend in October. The above picture is from last year's trip to the Columbus Zoo. Sadly, Nan (in the purple) will not be able to join us this year, but Kira will be here. Last year at this time she was frolicking in the Middle East as part of the BYU-Jerusalem program. This morning we picked my mom and youngest sister, Kaylee, up from the aiport and this afternoon we get Kira. Bekka comes in tomorrow from Phoenix because she is still teaching today, but next week is her fall break.

I am looking forward to a week of good conversation, late night chats, scrumptious food, multiple trips to Handel's, some fun day trips (or "Nollie's educational field trips" as Kaylee likes to call them), games, and all around good times had by all.

My little brother, Rikker, and his wife Kara, also stopped by the Buckeye state last fall, so we will miss them this year. They're currently living in Bangkok, Thailand, and we'll see them over Christmas for Nan's wedding.
We have plans for apple picking, pumpkin patches, some shopping, Amish Country, Slate Run Farm, and more. If there are any must-do activities or sights you know of, please pass them on. Here's to family!

Anatomy of a Campaign Rally

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Thousands of Ohioans turned out to see Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin at a rally on the campus of Capital University in Bexley. The candidates chose to campaign in this crucial swing state before Palin heads to Arizona for four intense days of debate preparation in advance of her meeting with Sen. Joe Biden this Thursday. CBS News anchor Katie Couric also attended the rally, appearing on the sidelines and snapping photographs with the crowd before the candidates appeared. Couric hosted the evening news program from Columbus , where she conducted the first joint interview with McCain and Palin.



Here's the campaign rally report. It was much as I thought it would be, very scripted, with the speeches being the same old campaign rhetoric about being mavericks, etc. That part wasn't the interesting aspect. In a way, I felt like I could have been watching McCain and Palin on TV because they didn't say anything I hadn't heard before. It was the small details, watching the campaign aides flit back and forth so everything was just right for the cameras and the big entrance. More on that later...

The ticket to get into the rally. I had two extras and ended up giving them away on the bus ride to the rally site to some women who didn't have tickets but went hoping to get in anyway.
Attendees parked at the Franklin Park Conservatory and Wolfe Park in Bexley and were bused to the Capital University campus.
The line to get into the rally stretched for three-four blocks, but moved quickly. Most of the people I saw were your typical Midwesterners in jeans and sensible shoes. Many were middle aged or older and overwhelmingly caucasian. There were also a number of college students from Capital who looked like they just wanted to be a part of the goings-on.
Hawkers moved among the people waiting to get in, selling buttons, t-shirts, bumper stickers, lanyards, and other items. Many buttons featured Gov. Palin in various poses, including aiming a gun, festooned with the slogan, "Read My Lipstick." Another had John McCain as Mr. Clean, vowing to clean up Washington. I'm surprised at how many people actually bought stuff.
The protesters and Obama supporters across the street from the entrance. The group consisted mostly of younger individuals.

Upon entering, everyone had to pass through the security checkpoints before being allowed into the staging area.
The rally was held in the Capital Center, the student union building. A podium with raised seating was set up in the front, for the cameras. Everyone else had to stand. I found a bench on the side where I could stand and see over everyone's heads. The program started at 11 a.m., and a few minor league speakers were there to rev up the crowd, along with lots of music and cheers of "OH-IO!" Of course everyone in Ohio knows what to do when they hear someone say "O-H," but I was disappointed that no one knew what to do when "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond came on. I got excited, expecting everyone to break out singing the chorus and the "Oh, oh, ohs" like they do at the 7th inning of every Red Sox game at Fenway Park. But apparently that is only a Boston thing. The media phalanx gearing up. The candidates were supposed to be there at 11:30, but they kept stalling the crowds by telling us that they were on their way. This whole time legions of dark suited campaign operatives with white earpieces moved around, securing entrances and choosing people out of the crowd to take behind the barriers and seat in view of the camera to have the ideal mix of people on air. I saw them ask a mom with three kids, a Jewish man and his son wearing yarmulkes, and some students in college attire get led to the coveted bleachers. One campaign operative stood out because he wore a huge eyepatch and looked just like Stephen Colbert. Maybe he was Colbert undercover for the rally. :)
In addition handing out hundreds of white "Country First" campain placards, campaing aides also handed out "homemade" campaign signs. The kind painted on posterboard. The woman next to me had one of them. I didn't take any signs or cheer. I just wanted to observe.
I knew that the candidates were getting close when the main campaign staffers came in. They were East Coast types immediately distinguishable by their snappy suits, designer handbags and expensive shoes. Katie Couric walked in right after them and I couldn't believe it. For those of you who don't know, my secret dream has always been to be the next Katie Couric. She was on the sidelines about 15 feet away from me, (see picture above) wearing a fabulous deep purple ensemble. I knew we were soul mates. She snapped pictures with the crowd and talked with her assistants for about 10 minutes and went behind the curtains right before McCain and Co. appeared.

Then the theme song from "Rocky" came on and the crowd went wild. Sen. and Cindy McCain, Gov. Palin, and her daughter Willow all walked out. After the cheering died down, each candidate spoke for 15 minutes. Gov. Palin was engaging, but her voice is grating after a while and it was all so rehearsed. Sen. McCain was much the same. Cindy did well off the cuff, the connsumate trophy wife. I really don't mean that to be demeaning. She is an accomplished woman in her own right and I hope to look as good as she does when I'm her age.

All in all, I'm glad I went. If nothing else, to see the spectacle and how utterly staged and managed political events are in our media age. I can't imagine being a campaign staffer who has to be part of an advance team that goes to each city ahead of time, preparing venues for the same type of event day after day. I also can't imagine how exhausted the candidates must be of doing the same thing over and over. You really have to want to be president to put up with the media and campaign gauntlet.

For me, the most enlightening part of the day came on the bus ride back to the parking areas. I sat down next to a gentleman in his late 70s and asked him what he thought of the event. We proceeded to talk for the next 15 minutes. He is a lifelong Ohioan who worked as an engineer at the Columbus area GM plant for 38 years until it went under. He said he's always leaned conservative but has reservations about Palin as the possible commander in chief. I asked him who he would have preferred and he said Romney. I then asked him if he had any qualms about Romney's religious affiliation and he responded, "no." He said he is a Lutheran and was glad Romney had a religious affiliation, which he didn't think would have interfered with his governing. He alluded to the fact that he is old enough to remember the controversey surrounding Kennedy's candidacy and his Catholicism, which turned out to be a non-issue.

After my seatmate got off the bus, the bus driver, a very blue-collar looking guy, commented on our conversation and said that his parents had both worked at the same GM plant, but that it was closed, thanks to the unions. He said that he thinks that it's Americans, not politicians, have gotten us into the jobs mess. It's Americans who want to get paid more to work less. At that point I had to get off the bus. Quite interesting to hear what your average citizens think. It made me wonder if the majority of Americans are quite moderate, but it's just the extremists on either side who get heard most and pandered to. Maybe we would get candidates who represented us better (not to disparage either one running) if the moderate voices spoke louder.

Life in a Swing State

Living in a hotly contested election state is a new experience for me. Everywhere else Andy and I have lived (Utah, Arizona, and Massachusetts) were either firmly red or blue, so major party candidates mostly skipped over them on their quest for the White house. But here in Ohio, we are wooed, visited, and bombarded with election commerials, hoping to sway us one way or the other.

This morning I got a message on my answering machine from the Republican National Committee informing me of a McCain-Palin "Road to Victory" campaign rally that will be held in Columbus this coming Monday. The event is free, all that is required is to pick up a ticket at the McCain headquarters office in downtown Columbus and then show up on Monday morning. Having never attended anything like this before, it piqued my curiosity and I decided that I'm going to attend the event. Not as an ardent McCain supporter (I'm actually undecided at this point), but more as an interested observer. Who knows? I may never get another opportunity to attend a large, choreographed presidential campaign event and see a candidate live. And, I'll admit it, I'm very curious to see Sarah Palin in person. The SNL skit about her featuring Tina Fey was so funny, we'll see how true to life her caricature really is. I checked the Obama website to see if they had any upcoming events in the Columbus area, but unfortunately, none were listed.

So for part of our date tonight, Andy and I drove downtown and picked up three tickets to the rally. That means two extras if anyone else would like to come along. Only time will tell if the road to victory for McCain truly runs through Columbus.

Will You be Watching?

Only five and a half hours until Michael Scott and Co. are back in action! I'll be scurrying home from book club in time to watch. Yes, the life of people without Tivo. Will you be tuning in as well or is there another season premiere you're anxiously awaiting?

P.S. Is it just me, or could Jim Halpert be Andy's celebrity double? Granted, Andy would have to grow a shaggy mane.

P.P.S. Below is a great movie re-we watched this week. An inspiring movie about a man who decides to swim the English Channel after he loses his job at a shipbuilding yard and is dealing with the death of his son 30 years earlier. Sounds like a downer, but it's not. It does take a while to get used to the thick accents, but definitely worth watching.

Tar Baby

This morning bright and early, workers were at our next door neighbor's house laying down a fresh coat of driveway sealant. As usual, they had erected some cones with rope between them at the end of the driveway so no one could enter and ruin the finish. Andy didn't have to go into work as early this morning so he decided to enjoy the cool morning air and give our lawn a badly-needed mow. He just avoided the sideyard near the neighbor's driveway so he wouldn't get the lawnmower or grass clippings in the sealant.

When Ben woke up, he went outside to see Andy. I followed closely behind, and when I got to the backyard, was shocked to discover that Ben was covered in black from shoulder to ankle on one side of his body. Andy hadn't seen him do it, but apparently he had stepped on the driveway and slipped on the black goo.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with driveway sealant, it's basically liquefied tar. We were worried that it would burn his skin so I immediately scooped him up and bundled him inside into the bathtub where I spent 10 minutes furiously scrubbing him down. Thankfully, the tar hadn't had a chance to dry so it came off fairly easily. Ben wasn't too concerned about it all, just sad that it got his new Cars underwear and pirate pajama shirt dirty. If you're wondering, yes, we let our kid play outside in just undies and a t-shirt. Judge, if you must.

Sadly, I don't have any pictures to accompany this story because of the hasty action we took to avert a crisis. It was really quite funny once we realized he wasn't going to lose half of his skin. When I asked him how it happened, he said, "Daddy told me to be careful. Then I slipped."

The Race for the Roses

I'm throwing my hat in the ring, so to speak. Ever since we moved to Columbus and I discovered that one of America's main sporting and cultural events, the Kentucky Derby, occurs a mere three hours south of us, it has become my life's goal to attend this hallowed occasion. For years I have dreamed of donning a fabulously large sunhat and sipping my own elegant mint julep (sans alcohol, naturally) while crazily cheering for a new equine champion to be crowned. Perhaps even make a little wager of my own.

But getting tickets to the blessed event is not so easy. First, you have to be a member of the Twin Spires club, operated by Churchill Downs (location of the Derby). Then you have to enter the online lottery for tickets and agree to buy a certain number of tickets if your number is drawn. Last year I signed up for the club, but after the lottery for the 2008 Derby had already closed. Drat! So yesterday, when my inbox announced the arrival of a message from the Twin Spires Club, I opened it post haste. To my joy, it announced that "Applications are now being taken for 2009 Kentucky Derby tickets." You can imagine how quickly I clicked on that little link and signed up, in hopes of being chosen for some coveted grandstand seats. No infield seats with the commoners, I want to be as close to Millionaire's Row as possible.

So keep your fingers crossed and send all your positive karma, juju, life force, whatever you want to call it, this way. Or perhaps in the direction of Louisville, KY, where the lottery will take place. If my name is drawn, however, I will only be able to thank you with words. The four tickets are already spoken for. I have a sister who is a true horse racing aficionado and, if possible, is more excited about the prospect of attending than I am. You can always sign up for your own tickets - there's still time.

The lovely mint julep: Mint, sugar, water, and bourbon.
The hats are the best part of the Derby. I will go for a tres chic black and white ensemble, of course. All summer I've been eyeing a hat at Forever 21 that would fit the bill perfectly. Maybe I should go out and see if they have any left, in the hopes that buying one will help my odds of getting tickets. You've heard of the book, "The Secret." Isn't that how it works?
The ascot scene from My Fair Lady. Love it. Eliza, think Kentucky Derby 2009.

New Church in Boston

I was excited to read this article today in the Boston Globe about the new LDS chapel being built in Cambridge, MA. This is the building that will replace the current meeting place, an old converted boiler building surrounded by gleaming biotech facilities near the MIT campus. While we were in Boston, our congregation met in the boiler building. While it is a historic location and a unique experience, it's not the best place to hold religious services due to a lack of space and parking. One of our classes met in the basement, which is basically a glorified garage.

This is one of the new urban church designs with multiple levels and underground parking. Needless to say, there there's much excitement surrounding the new facility and I hope to be able to see it when it's done. As you can read in the article, there's been a history of opposition to constructing LDS meeting places in the Boston area, for a variety of reasons. But this should be a nice addition to the city.