Columbia: Day 1
It's strange being in a new place on election day...on this election day.
We flew in last night on Frontier, through Denver. It was warm and muggy. I collected our bags and equipment in baggage claim and Wendy got the car. I was waiting for her to pick me up when a male flight attendant tried to pick up on me. "So, are you married?" he asked.
We drove half way across the state through midnight. We stopped at a McDonalds to pick up a cheese burger and a cup of coffee. It took an absurdly long time.
We stayed at the Downtown Regency Hotel--a depressing and odd building where they cover up the dusty smell of decay with industrial perfume. The only button that worked on the TV remote was the down-channel button. I could tell that they were trying to fix it up, than they have been trying to fix it up since it was built. The outside wall of our room was made completely of glass and the once open-air hallway outside our room was likewise enclosed. To their credit, though, they did have free wifi in the lobby. That one feature made everything better.
I woke up this morning and went down for their free continental breakfast. Aside from coffee, there wasn't anything that my new diet would permit me eating. I brought some food up to Wendy and went for a walk.
I ran into some high-school kids who were holding up a big Kerry Edwards sign for traffic. I told them I had voted for the man, and they yelled "Yay!" in unison--as if, somehow, I had voted on their behalf. I asked them if they thought Kerry would win, and they said that he had won their school election last week by 15 points.
I asked about a good place for breakfast, and they walked me over a couple of blocks to a place called Arnies. When I told them that I was here with my wife to teach animation, one of them said, "You're the animation teacher? I really wanted to take that class, but I missed the deadline."
I ate breakfast and read the thin St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I overheard someone commenting on the thinness of the morning's issue, and his friend commented that it was likely due to all the advertisers holding out for tomorrow's much anticipated results.
I continued on my walk and was surprised by the number of Kerry supporters out on the street by now. Probably 30 people walking up and down the street with signs for traffic.
I walked past the county courthouse and took a moment to view their war memorials. The biggest was for WWI, but there were memorials also for WWII, Civil War, Vietnam, and the Gulf War--oddly, no Korean monument. I noticed on the civil war monument that the names of the county war dead had either CSA or USA after them. It took a second for it to sink in. It looks like half the county went confederate, the other half went union.
I showered and cleaned up, and we came out to our guest house on the Missouri river. It's a nice, pagoda-shaped place with lots of wood (inlaid floors!) and light, surrounded by scrub forest. Things are looking very good for us. I am hopeful.
We flew in last night on Frontier, through Denver. It was warm and muggy. I collected our bags and equipment in baggage claim and Wendy got the car. I was waiting for her to pick me up when a male flight attendant tried to pick up on me. "So, are you married?" he asked.
We drove half way across the state through midnight. We stopped at a McDonalds to pick up a cheese burger and a cup of coffee. It took an absurdly long time.
We stayed at the Downtown Regency Hotel--a depressing and odd building where they cover up the dusty smell of decay with industrial perfume. The only button that worked on the TV remote was the down-channel button. I could tell that they were trying to fix it up, than they have been trying to fix it up since it was built. The outside wall of our room was made completely of glass and the once open-air hallway outside our room was likewise enclosed. To their credit, though, they did have free wifi in the lobby. That one feature made everything better.
I woke up this morning and went down for their free continental breakfast. Aside from coffee, there wasn't anything that my new diet would permit me eating. I brought some food up to Wendy and went for a walk.
I ran into some high-school kids who were holding up a big Kerry Edwards sign for traffic. I told them I had voted for the man, and they yelled "Yay!" in unison--as if, somehow, I had voted on their behalf. I asked them if they thought Kerry would win, and they said that he had won their school election last week by 15 points.
I asked about a good place for breakfast, and they walked me over a couple of blocks to a place called Arnies. When I told them that I was here with my wife to teach animation, one of them said, "You're the animation teacher? I really wanted to take that class, but I missed the deadline."
I ate breakfast and read the thin St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I overheard someone commenting on the thinness of the morning's issue, and his friend commented that it was likely due to all the advertisers holding out for tomorrow's much anticipated results.
I continued on my walk and was surprised by the number of Kerry supporters out on the street by now. Probably 30 people walking up and down the street with signs for traffic.
I walked past the county courthouse and took a moment to view their war memorials. The biggest was for WWI, but there were memorials also for WWII, Civil War, Vietnam, and the Gulf War--oddly, no Korean monument. I noticed on the civil war monument that the names of the county war dead had either CSA or USA after them. It took a second for it to sink in. It looks like half the county went confederate, the other half went union.
I showered and cleaned up, and we came out to our guest house on the Missouri river. It's a nice, pagoda-shaped place with lots of wood (inlaid floors!) and light, surrounded by scrub forest. Things are looking very good for us. I am hopeful.
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