My Day Off

Yesterday they announced on the radio that Barack Obama had canceled his trip to Muncie and instead detoured to Fort Wayne for a town hall meeting. As soon as I had heard, I logged on the computer, went to Obama's website and requested a ticket. I'm glad I did when I did, because they were gone in less than an hour. I found out at about 3:00pm that I had been given a ticket to get into the event.

Today I went over to Wayne High School at about 8:00am to stand in the rain and wait with 2000 other people to crowd into the gym to see Mr. Obama speak.

The crowd was a racial imbalance with about 70% African American to Caucasian mix. The funny thing about it was that even with this mix I still felt very comfortable. The crowd that had gathered were there for the same purpose as I was.

I stood outside for about an hour, shambling along at a very slow pace until I was finally able to enter the commons of the high school. Security was extremely thorough, asking me to turn on my cell phone and camera to check their functionality, requesting all the metal objects out of my pocket, and passing me through a metal detector before wanding me and patting me down. Once it had been determined that I was not a threat, they let me enter the gym.

It was extremely crowded, with tons of people crammed into the risers in the gym. Two separate platforms had been erected, one for a plethora of news media who had earlier erected their tripods and expensive cameras. The other stood with a single microphone, behind which sat a small bleacher reserved for the privileged few. I was sent to the far left and placed on an aisle, with so many bodies parked like cars before me.

I was sitting about 12 rows up, constantly jostled in front of and behind me by people who just couldn't keep their seat. The conversation around me revolved around the seats on the floor, oh so close to Mr. Obama's stage. Everyone wanted those seats.

I waited and waited for about an hour and a half, the seat getting more uncomfortable by the minute. The crowd was growing restless as well and began to chant and cheer like we were at a ball game. There was even one guy who from the balcony, broke into a dance, drawing claps and cheers from the observers below.

There was an immediate tension in the air when we first noticed the Secret Service agents. They filed in from behind a curtain and marched to a variety of preassigned posts. You could see them scanning the crowd. The thing that surprised me about them however was how they interacted with one another. They weren't the stoic individuals I came to recognize from the movies. Instead they were smiling and seemingly joking with one another. You could still feel their presence.

A speaker approached the microphone on the stage. I doubt if anyone recognized the man, as he was certainly no one I had ever seen.

The man introduced himself as Mike Riley, the former campaign manager of Robert Kennedy. He shared stories of the crowd reaction 40 years ago today when Bobby Kennedy had to tell a gathered rally about the assassination of Martin Luther King. It was a very touching story.

I won't get into too many details, other than to say that Mr. Riley gave a nice, not great, introduction for Mr. Obama. The aura of the crowd completely changed when the Senator walked out. It was pretty incredible. I have to say that I, like the people around me, were completely stricken by Mr. Obama.

He started with a moment of silence in recognition of the anniversary of Dr. King's murder. The message that followed was one of reverence toward the slain pastor. Yet in no time Obama tied it into our current political situation. He spoke for about 10 minutes, but quickly changed the tone of the gathering by announcing that they were going to do things the way Dr. King would have. He was going to have a town meeting, and that it was time to get to work.

Obama is a great speaker. He took questions from the crowd (8 or 9 of them) and addressed each one completely. He managed throughout his answers to address all the issues of today: Gun control, health insurance, education, drugs, the environment, labor unions and the war in Iraq. He didn't linger too long on any issue, yet his underlying tone was pretty easy to understand: government can help with some issues, but the basic things that can further one's life was stuff that happened at home.

I really liked that message. I think it is important for people to take ownership of their own lives. Obama's message was about giving American's more opportunities, not giving them handouts. I can appreciate that.

I don't want to drag this message out any longer. I just want to say that I felt that Obama was extremely genuine. He spoke to the people, not at them. He didn't read from a script, and as far as I could see had no notes to refer to. He was real, and I like that. I was glad I got an opportunity to see him.

Right before I left, I pushed my way through the crowd to the railing near the stage. As luck would have it, Obama had just made his way to that area. I was able to reach out my hand and shake his. Now I'm not bragging or anything, but I feel honored to have shook the man's hand. I only hope that in seven months I can tell my friends and family that I had the opportunity to shake the hand of the President of the United States.