11 Hours on a Street Corner

Monique and I wanted to do everything we absolutely could for this campaign on its very last day in California. So we stood on the busiest intersection for 11 hours waving our Obama signs.

If there was doubt in the minds of those that know us whether we felt a true importance for what we believe in to this point, we proved it to ourselves and to the thousands that saw us.

After passing out voting literature in the predawn hours, Monique and I got to different corners of a busy intersection in San Rafael near the 101 and stood there with our arms held up high all day until the skies darkened. We knew voters were passing us to the polls throughout the entire day and would likely be the last campaign impression they see.

We know how excited we get when we see others holding Obama signs. So we decided that we needed to be that inspiration for somebody else. We hope that maybe it would inspire them to go vote for Barack. Maybe that would inspire them to call their friends to vote. Maybe that would inspire them to hold up a sign of their own and be that inspiration for someone else.

Too many times in the last 7 years when we see what's wrong with how this country is, we just sit and complain about it. And yet we do nothing. All of us have done it. But now some of us are realizing that we CAN do something about it. We CAN channel that frustration. And we don't have to just settle for someone else that's a safe bet that will be good enough.

For some people in this country, they just sit in their cars and couches and go about consuming with no meaning. We all need to take part in making this country a better place so that we can be proud to be part of it. Barack stands for courage, the courage to make a stand when it seems the odds are against us. I, for one, would never guessed that I would be standing waving a sign at an onramp for 11 hours next to garbage until my back and legs were as sore as after a 15 mile run. But if something is important enough, everyone one of us will have the courage and the means to do what may seem like the impossible.

(On a side note, waving a sign for Barack gives you a very personal glimpse of who his supporters are. And just as he suggested in his campaign, it transcends race, gender, class, and age. I had an 90 year old lady giving me the thumbs up. I had a brand new Range Rover and Mercedes S520 with Obama bumper sticker cheering for me. I had Latino guys sitting 3 across in their trucks all cheering in unison as they saw my sign. I had big monster trucks that had Obama signs on the back tailgate. His ability to connect with people from all backgrounds shocked me. This correlates with the fact that he is able to triumph in the most Republican of states; Idaho, Utah, Alaska, Wyoming... Maybe we are more similar than we think.)

A high school student in our town had just donated $250 to Barack's campaign and he is going to Texas to volunteer. Be part of the movement. Barack hasn't had to dip into his personal savings yet. It's a good thing since he doesn't have much to dip into.