Last night I found myself at the Obama rally in Springfield, MO. When I woke up on Friday morning, I was not aware that one of the dreams that I've had since this race started would come true. On Friday evening, my father called and told me that he, my mother, and my sister would be going to the rally and asked if I wanted to come along. And who could say no???
My dad, bless his heart, and my sister drove three hours to my school to pick me up on Saturday morning. As we rushed back to my parents' house, I was so excited I could barely stand it. The day seemed to drag on as we picked up my mom and headed off to Springfield.
It wasn't long before we saw the line of Obama supporters. We joined them at 4:30 in the afternoon. My mom, being the social butterfly that she is, chatted with those around us. Everyone was absolutely thrilled.
Now, the rally was held at the JFK stadium and when we got there, the line was already backed up for a mile. It was a long wait since the doors were not going to open until six, and I felt sorry for the people behind us because as the evening crawled on, we heard that the line was over two miles long. People of every color, shape, and size wore their Obama shirts, hats, buttons, etc. There were many groups selling more Obama merchandise (my sister bought an awesome t-shirt). My family and I stood in the line eating Taco Bell as we waited, and by six our feet were already starting to hurt.
There were a few protestors, but not very many. A couple of kids and their parents walked along the other side of the road with posterboards where they had written nasty things in Sharpie. There were some vehicles that drove up and down the road with McCain stickers and what not, glaring at us. And there was this strange old man carrying a sign that called Obama a Marxist, Socialist, Un-American, etc. He also had an ancient video recorder that had a McCain/Palin sticker on it. He marched up and down our side the street. As these protestors passed, the crowds would chant OBAMA, OBAMA, OBAMA! It was awesome.
It wasn't until after seven, maybe eight that we got to the stadium. Despite his sore feet, my dad wanted to go into the standing room on the field, as close to the stage as possible. My family and I huddled together in the crowd, everyone packed together really close. My mom and I are rather short so we had to keep shifting and moving to see the podium/stage properly. People were irritable by then and getting impatient. Some speakers came on the stage and talked for a while (I don't remember who nor did I pay much attention since I live in Oklahoma not MO). Then there was more waiting as we listened to the same six or seven songs being played over and over through the loud speakers. I don't think Michelle came on until well after nine.
She is more beautiful in person than on television. And her strong voice revealed her passion and pride as she spoke about the campaign, volunteering, and voting. She wasn't on long before she introduced Barack. The stadium erupted into thunderous cheers and applause as he appeared on stage.
The moment I saw him, I was overwhelmed with emotion. Tears ran down my cheeks as he kissed Michelle, waved, and smiled kindly. And as he took his place at the podium, I let his powerful voice wash over me. It was surreal. For so long now, I have wanted to hear him speak, to see him in person...to know that he was real. Despite working so hard, he did not look exhausted. He probably was, but he just didn't want to show it. At some moments, it seemed like his dark eyes were looking right at me (we were less than 75 feet from the stage). He spoke about what his administration would do for us, why it was important for everyone to vote. His speech lasted about thirty to forty minutes (I'm not sure exactly because I was in awe and time was of no importance). We cheered, we chanted YES WE CAN, we laughed. It was an amazing experience.
My feet hurt today and I'm exhausted, but the experience was well worth it and something I will hold onto for the rest of my life. Now, my sister had her camera but I don't know how well the pics turned out and it will probably take her a while to send them to me. If there's any good ones I'll share them with you. Until then, I'll just provide some of my favorite eyecandy that I've collected throughout the election.