Sunday in Florida

It all started on Friday morning. I headed over to the Hillsborough County Republican office. An early morning email let us know that Gov. Palin was going to be in Florida on Sunday, and tickets were available. Got in, got in line and then I noticed the guy with a huge camera on his shoulder standing off to the side. Great - the local tv station was there!! I tried to get in and get out without being noticed. Not to happen - on my way out with my tickets the reporter who looked to be high school age - stopped me. Well, this gal had no idea what kind of week we had had, and that she was not going to interview me - but Towanda. I am the last person to want to be on TV, but Friday - it just didn't matter. I am so tired of what this campaign has already become. I am beyond upset about what happened to our savings, investments and retirement last week. So when asked why would I want to spend time going to see Gov. Palin and the Republican ticket on Sunday - well, I was nice - but I told them way more than they asked for. I vented. I shared my hopes and dreams for the McCain-Palin ticket. My pride in this country and our soldiers, and a desire for a ticket that will make sure that my son-in-law is protected as he does his job protecting all of us. My excitement that must surely be shared by parents of children with disabilities. Finally, their concerns will be front and center!! I am ready for a ticket that is not afraid to stand up for what they believe in. Someone who won't turn this country over to socialized medicine, and won't ask us to prove our patriotism by giving our money away with more taxes. So, I assumed everything would be edited and thrown on the floor - but it wasn't. I ended up on the news - what they kept in the report was my concerns about the economy - duh??? There is just so much more to all of this!! So Sunday morning Marilyn, Becky and I headed to The Villages about 9:30. After a few stops along the way, we arrived around 1. We were in a trafic jam along with other cars and about 10,000 golf carts - what a hoot!! We found our place to stand and waited in the Florida sun
(you know the kind of heat when you can feel sweat running down your back and then into regions unknown) - until about 4pm - when we got a video of the Straight Talk bus pulling into the Village. Did I say how hot it was - 100 EMS calls for folks passing out!! Great speech, even greater excitement about things to come, fun time hiding in the bushes to get an up close photo of Gov. Palin as she boarded the bus. Over 50.000 folks and believe me, most of them were driving golf carts. Didn't realize until Sunday that you could actually "pimp your ride" in a golf cart!!!