Unexpected,
just unexpected. Went to my local favorite Bobcat Cafe tonight for a
hamburger. Surprised that at 6:30 so many seats were available at
the bar on Friday night. Sat down next to a man I recognized and
knew was friendly. We'd seen each other more than on a few
occasions, but I didn't know his name until tonight I asked. He knew
me, he said. The first thing he said to me was, “Hey! I voted for
you.”
I
replied sincerely, “Hey, thank you. I guess I let a few people
down.”
“No,
that's not the way it goes down,” he said, “ they didn't hear
you. I heard you.”
“What
did you hear?” I wondered.
“The
urgency.”
I
looked him over. Viewing from my 65 years of experience I figured
him to be 69 or 70. I've come to recognize men who have been through
military experiences and after telling him my age, asked him his. He
is 80. Served on a submarine that spied on Russia.
“Yeah,”
I said, “Urgency was key to my message. You're 80? Damn, you are
incredible! Your handshake is awesome, and you are on top of shit!”
“Genetics.
Look, I was impressed by how you dealt with that fall. You don't
come through that unless you are a fighter. I followed your story
when you went off that building, I followed you when you were in that
wheelchair and and all that. You're amazing. Why did you decide to
run for House, man?”
“I
couldn't sleep. I just thought I had to say something where it might
matter. If my pulpit was only going to be knee high, I was going to
use it.”
By
now it was noticeably louder and the bar stools were all taken and
people were standing around and behind us. I'd ordered my burger and
a gin and tonic and he ordered his second gin. He was incredibly
sharp and facile in his speech.
“So
what do you feel was your main message, the thing that you stood
for?”
He
was looking for substance.
“Really,
it boiled down to the fact that what we wanted to do for education,
for health care, for energy, for whatever, the four of us running
were probably going to vote the same. The main message I wanted
everybody to understand is that what is going on at the national
level is affecting whatever it is we want to do here. That clean
water, that Lake Champlain.....”
“All
politics is local, right?” He interrupted.
“Exactly.”
“I
heard that right away and couldn't agree more.”
“ Really?
Thanks!” Then I talked about the mistakes I knew I'd made and
how my work had affected the number of doors I could afford to knock
on and so on.
“I
am totally behind you,” he told me. “ You have to keep running”
“I
don't know,” I said. “I just don't see the fire in others that I
feel has to happen. I mean, right now! I think people think they
can go about business as usual and everything will turn out. Maybe
it will, but without that fire, it doesn't seem like it will.”
“You
learned a lot right? You should keep at it. We... I … want you to
keep at it.”
“But
what if it's too late? I don't see how we can make it if we don't
put up a huge blockade by THIS November. I mean, it has to be done
now!”
“ Yeah.
But you can only do what you can do. You run again in two years, I
will help you. I totally got what you had to say and what you think
you have to offer. It's good stuff. I want to help and I know there
are others. So don't stop now.”
All
I could say was “Wow. You know how to humble a guy”
“Aw
shut up. Anybody who's been through what you have and come out like
this gets my support.”
“And
you sir, have all of mine. I can only imagine having the acuity that
you have at 80. You've lifted me up at a time I didn't realize how
much I needed it.”
