Winds of Change

It was the same normal Thursday afternoon for me. I was at work, completely swamped and overwhelmed with the responsibilities of my career and home. It was not a particularly fun day, being the first of May, I was always more busy than normal on the first of the month. My cell phone rang in my purse and I just let it ring since I didn't have the time to bother with whoever it was that surely wanted something from me.

A few hours passed and when I had a few free minutes I checked to see who's call I had missed. I didn't recognize the number but they did leave a message. When I listened to the voicemail that had been left, I didn't think too much of it. It was a call from a member of the Obama campaign telling me there was an exciting opportunity and to return her call as soon as possible. Even as an enthusiastic Obama supporter, contributor, and light volunteer, I was sure the "exciting opportunity" was probably something along the lines of knocking on doors, or meeting someone high up in the campaign.

About an hour later I returned "Emily's" call. When she informed me of the opportunity, I almost dropped my phone. Senator Obama was going to be in Indiana on Saturday, May 3rd speaking in a few cities. On his way from one event to another, he would be making a stop in Kempton to visit a home that had belonged to a relative of his (Kempton is only a few minutes from my home town of Tipton). Emily informed me that due to my attendance in the town hall meeting and the light volunteer work I had done I was chosen to have the opportunity to attend this private meeting. This event was closed to the public and only open to a very few select members of the press, not including, of course, the press corps that travel with the Senator everywhere he goes.

Not only was I given this once in a lifetime opportunity, but I was also informed that I could extend the invitation to three of my friends and family members. I made a few phone calls to some very excited friends (who all thought I was pulling their leg) and confirmed with the campaign our intention of attendance. I was told when I called for confirmation to "bring a dish" as the plan was to have a pitch in picnic outside as we visited. I was stunned! I was going to prepare a dish that Barack Obama and his family could eat? Senator Barack Obama? Eat? MY food? I could hardly contain my giddiness.

Saturday came and I couldn't get home from work fast enough. I was still in shock that I was going to be able to meet the famous junior senator that had so captured the intrigue of so many. Two of my very close girlfriends, Heather and Katie, were going to come with my husband Sam and myself. As they arrived at my home, we noticed the cloud cover started to get thicker so we all thought we better bring our jackets.

We gathered the dishes we had all prepared and loaded in the car, giggling like school girls. We made the 10 minute drive to Kempton and when we arrived to the rural road where the home was located, we saw that it was blocked off with several Sherriff's cars. An officer approached our car and collected all of our ID's and checked them off of "the list". My goodness! I was on a "LIST" to see Barack Obama! We drove down the road and were directed to pull to the side and wait in our vehicle until someone came and told us to get out. About 15 minutes went by and we received the ok to go up to the house.

That is when the problems began. I started to open my car door, but it immediately shut on me as I did so. I tried again and the wind was so strong, I could hardly push against its force. As I stood next to the car I looked at my husband and girlfriends in utter disbelief. The weather had turned from a partly sunny, pleasant day to a completely overcast, bitterly cold day where the sustained wind was between 30 and 50 mph. The picnic tables and chairs that had been set outside had blown away and been taken down. As Heather got out of the car, her dress continued to blow up to the point that she could not keep it held down. She almost started to cry because she literally could not be outside without her dress blowing up and she could not control it. Luckily, I had a blanket in the trunk and she was forced to wrap it around her body.

We walked against the wind up to the old house and quickly learned that we were actually not allowed to go inside as it was being remodeled. We were forced to stand outside in the wind that was so bitterly cold and so amazingly strong, we all had tears in our eyes, running noses and red hands after only being exposed for about 5 minutes. It was truly almost unbearable. We were in disbelief. Here is our chance of a lifetime and it was almost not worth it to be in the kind of pain we were all in. We did brave the elements and fought through the pain and it was so worth it.

We saw Obama's entourage coming down the road and it consisted of two very large buses and three to five SUV style vehicles. The press corps and secret service began spilling from the vehicles and before we knew it, the crowd of about 20 people had swollen to over 100. The press stayed on the other side of the field while we all stayed hudled behind the house like cattle trying to stay warm in a winter storm. Then we saw Obama get out of the bus. We all cheered and screamed with excitement and watched as he made his way around the house. He came around the corner and THERE HE WAS. He was right there in front of us. He and his wife and daughters mingled with us, asking us our names, shaking hands and giving us that million dollar smile. He was charming, warm, friendly and very giving of his time and autographs. No speeches were given and no policy was discussed. It was simply Barack Obama and family meeting some citizens of a small, rural community, and allowing us to ask him questions, take photos with him, and get items autographed. He was poised, well spoken and exactly as he had always seemed. Smooth.

We got our photo with he and Michelle (along with about 200 other photos I took) and he autographed an 8 X 10 photo of my 2 young boys. He signed it, "To Jack and Max. Dream Big Dreams. Barack Obama". This is an item that my boys will always cherish when they are old enough to appreciate it. Unfortunately, because of the horrible weather, the Obama's visit was cut short and we didn't have the chance to share our dishes with he and his family. They ended up staying about 30 minutes then had to get back on the bus and were off to their next event.

Senator Obama didn't win the Indiana primary, losing marginally to Hilary Clinton. He did, however, forever win my sincere admiration. His integrity, class and ambiance are all too real. What you see is what you get was the impression I was left with. And though the day felt like it could nearly have been ruined due to the horrific weather conditions, I now realize it was nothing more than a storm bringing the winds of Change.