Getting tickets proved the easy part. I walked right onto campus the day before the event, waited in no lines (the lines were the day before) and walked away with two tickets to see the president of the United States. I had no idea that obtaining tickets was only the beginning.
The tickets said gates to the rally would open at 1 pm, so I figured I’d arrive maybe an hour early and stand for maybe an hour or two before the President’s arrival. Plus, the Vice President and Michelle Obama were attending as well. Maybe they’d speak first? When the President announced his Vice Presidential candidate 5 years ago, we waited in an enormous line to get in the event, but things progressed quickly. Not so much this time.
When I heard rumors that the President probably wouldn’t be speaking until the evening, I seriously considered bailing. I didn’t have a buddy confirmed to attend with me, plus I had to figure out the logistics of what to do with the kids in a new town. I’d seen Barack Obama before, but this time I’d see President Barack Obama while on the re-election trail. I don’t have a formal bucket list, but if I had one, this one would be at the top.
Thank goodness a new friend decided she also wanted to just go for it, generous friends helped with the kids, and my husband encouraged me to go. I dropped the boys off a little before noon and headed downtown, parking in the only garage I’m familiar with.
I’m lucky it wasn’t hot that day because it took me 15 minutes just to get around security and reach the line. Then I stood in line by myself for 45 minutes and probably answered the question “Are you registered to vote?” from volunteers 6 times. If I’d only known what lay ahead, I would have sat down.
My friend met up with me from work just as the line started moving and we found a pretty awesome spot in the center quite a few rows back. A volunteer tried to move us to the side, but I balked a bit. I waited in line – let me stand in the best spot I can find, right?
We found ourselves literally standing shoulder to shoulder, quickly surrounded by a sea of excited people. This is the only picture I took of myself, sitting in a rare moment before a volunteer told us we needed to stand for our own safety (people could get trampled).
Then we stood. And we waited. And we stood. I really enjoyed getting to know my new friend who I just met a month ago. Over time, our snack stash dwindled and it became apparent that if we went for water or bathrooms, we would not make it back to our spot. Two musical groups came on, the first what I’m sure was a very talented blues singer, but not very spunky. I loved the irony of “I Can See Clearly Now the Rain is Gone” while we listened in a down pour. What we really needed was an awesome DJ or a cover band to play cheesy songs we could sing along to. Note to the President’s event coordinators: Do a better job taking care of a crowd if you’re going to make us stand for 5 hours.
You would not believe the excitement of the crowd when they announced this guy, who would introduce the President. With Vice President Biden’s arrival, sagging shoulders and frowns all disappeared.
I’m certain this is more exciting if you’re a supporter of the President, but seeing the leader of our nation walk across the stage is a pretty powerful thing. The cheers as President Obama came to the podium were tremendous.
What is it like to watch President Obama speak in the midst of an energized crowd, all personal space lost, leaning from side to side, standing on your tippy toes to see? Truthfully: Amazing.
I’ll be honest, my enthusiasm has waned during these elections a bit, but this re-energized me. The President is charismatic, moving, funny, inspiring, and motivating. I laughed, cheered, clapped, and enjoyed the energy of the crowd.
By the time I walked back to my car that night, I figured I’d been on my feet for nearly 7 hours straight. But it was worth it. More than anything, I loved that I didn’t let the obstacles get in my way. It’s so easy to see the reasons something can’t be done, the problems, the challenges, rather than focus on the larger goal.
Thanks to some awesome support, I didn’t fall prey to those obstacles. Now I can say I’ve seen the current President of the United States in person. What’s next for my bucket list? I’ve always wanted to try sky diving…
Awesome! My sister got to see Obama on the campaign trail and said it was amazing. Most of my family would love to see either of the Obamas speak, however living in a small, conservative, decidedly red state (KS), there aren’t many opportunities for us. 🙂
Very cool, Mindy. That is a long time to be waiting on your feet. You are right, some crowd entertainment would have been good!
Sky diving, me too!! It’s my ‘once I reach my goal weight’ reward and my husband refuses to go with me haha, he said he can probably watch it but wasn’t even sure about that.