Life: August 2004 Archives
John Kerry's blog says 15,000 were at Union Station in St. Louis for the start of his Whistle Stop ride across Missouri. I was one of them, though I never got inside the station but had to stand behind some railing. All in all it was a good rally. I especially liked Kerry's statement that "health care is a right." If he sticks to that position he just might get my vote. If not, I'll vote for Nader again.
Kerry talked a lot about plans. But that's rhetoric. I'd like to know the details of the plans. Saying I have a plan just isn't enough. Anyone can say I have a plan. He doesn't go into detail about his plan for health care, but to say health care is a right is to say come hell or high water everyone will get the care that's needed.
The rally had a big brother aspect to it. Volunteers were constantly telling you you had to complete a sign-up sheet that had spaces for your name, your address, your phone number, and your email. One volunteer said you had to sign for security reasons. I signed Jorge Shrub but refused to give the Casa Blanca as my address. Another volunteer said the rally was getting names for its data base. Sounds like a list to me.
The line snaked by Hard Rock (do you really believe Hard Rock is out to save the planet?) with a table set up with $3 dollar hot dogs and hamburgers. Those little packets of mustard and ketchup included. I stopped afterwards at QT for a 99 cents hot dog, complete with chili, onions, cheese, and jalepenos.
I've been a fan of Cowboy Junkies since Trinity Session in 1986. I like them so much I went tonight with Ann to hear them play The Pageant in St. Louis. I usually hate going to concerts. I last went, other than to a symphony or chorus, in 1982, before Cowboy Junkies, when I took a van-load of my graduate professors' kids to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas to hear Journey. Ann says I must have been looking for a bump in my grades. The only other group I'd consider going to see is Pink Floyd. It's not that I don't like other bands. It's that I hate large crowds and loud spaces. The Pageant, however, is an intimate venue, and Margo Timmin's voice is a blend of Neil Young's harmonica and Yoyo Ma's cello.
