Barack Obama was in Asheville doing debate prep, and decided late in the week to hold a Sunday afternoon rally at Asheville High School. Apparently people had been lining up since dawn to try to get a good spot, but in characteristic fashion, we found out only that morning and rolled over there about noon. There were many, many people with better spots than us, but we got in just fine and could even see the man himself.
That guy is good--I think he's going places. It was exciting to be in the crowd. Even lining up to get in was fun, because it gave us a chance to mingle with our fellow liberals. Asheville is the Santa Cruz of North Carolina, you see, and while in line I remarked to Dad that everyone looked familiar even though I'd never seen them before. He said, "It's because these are your people." And they were--all 22,000 of them. Don't it make your red state blue?
Later, back home on the mountain, some new neighbors stopped by to check out Mom and Dad's house and the view from the deck. This is how it works up there. It's permissable to go knock on someone's door because you want to see their house. So we made some new friends:
They arrived with beers in hand. The daughter, Jenna, is a senior at UGA. She was wearing her jeans tucked into her Uggs, and she's a Fashion Merchandising major, so I guess we're still okay to tuck our jeans into our Uggs. We recycled their cans for them and offered them another round. Then, when they were leaving, Jenna asked for a third beer for the road, which we gave her. Carry-out hospitality!
She also offered to babysit sometime when we're up there, because both of the kids fell in love with her. Hank kept wanting to hug her, even though she was a stranger. And later, Laura said, "Mom, did you notice how Jenna's hair bounced when she walked?" (Yes, I noticed.) Anyway, I really enjoy the sort-of looser social rules up on the mountain. Like, you're just automatically more sociable because there are fewer people around. We managed to cram a lot of partying into half an hour with these people. The bonus is they have potbellied pigs and donkeys, which we went by to check out. I hope to get a ride in their crazy little 4WD mountain golf cart one of these days.
Livestock, cooler weather, adult beverages, Obama, Uggs. Good times on the mountain.
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8 comments:
I love that your tags on this post included Obama AND Uggs. :) Lucky girl. If I wanted to mingle with liberal people I think it would be me, my husband and a guy at work. We'd have to all stand awfully close to bump elbows or anything. I bet it was amazing to be there. I teared up and hit REWIND so many times during his speech at the DNC.
That is SO cool that you got to see Obama! Here's what I wanna know...did HE tuck his jeans into his Uggs?
Ya think Mom and Dad will get one of those cool mountain buggy thingies?
Go Obama!
Last year our high school's principal declared Obama's Dallas appearance as an official "event" and seniors were allowed to drive or take the train (and miss class) to see him. I know my middle son will never forget seeing who we think (and hope) will be the next President of the United States. Wish I had gone.
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That's neat about your son's school, Landshark. It really DID feel like being in the middle of a great historical happening.
And Jen, when we lived in California, it was like living in a delightful liberal bubble. It was a rally, 24/7. Now, in suburban Atlanta, not so much! (I'm like the neighborhood bohemian. Ha!) So it was a nice change.
I just started reading your blog. What a nice post - I heart Obama, Asheville, and am a UGA alum. Fun read for me!
Thanks for coming by, Bigbinder!
You're lucky, our family was eagerly anticipating going to an Obama rally in Cleveland, but he never came (he came to Cleveland State for a debate, but it sold out quick). I took my oldest to the Kerry rally a few years ago and it was very exciting!
Esp the guys with guns on the roofs making sure everyone behaved.
Looking forward to election day. I'm hoping we all get it right this time. :)
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