This a diary I've been thinking of writing for awhile. Today I finally checked my e-mail after coming home from a post-holiday vacation, and discovered I have been given a gift subscription to Daily Kos. Wow! I don't know what I did to deserve this, but thank you very much. I don't know if the donor wants to be made public, so I will thank her? personally in a kos-mail.
But in addition, I would like to extend a thanks to kos and to many, many kossacks who have made such a big difference in my life. When I joined here (late 2005 under a different username) I was a Democrat, but I was definitely not a a participant in the election process. I took my first tentative steps in 2006, doing a little bit of volunteer work in the election, but I didn't do much and it wasn't much fun.
In 2008 I made an effort to get out find places to volunteer. I found a local office, headed by a great lady named Nan, and lots of terrific volunteers. I did pretty much everything there was to do and had a ball.
In 2010 I worked on the campaign of woman running for state senator. I went to a meet-the-candidate get-together and said "I want to volunteer." Magic words. Her campaign manager just took over and set me up. The candidate lost, but she and her staff really got me hooked. Our township supervisor heard about my volunteer work and asked me to get involved in our local politics. I was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals in 2011, I was asked to be an election worker this year, and I worked on a number of campaigns in this election.
I've met so many people in our township from going door-to-door, and made great friends working with our local OFA office. I think one of the happiest days of my life was the election party on November 6. I was hearing all the MSM talk about what a close election it was going to be, and after seeing the results of the absentee ballots in our township, I was pretty nervous. Watching the results with all the people I had worked with for nine months was such a thrill. So many hugs and kisses and cheers. It was an experience I don't think I've ever had before, even in 2008.
So thanks to everyone for all you do and for the inspiration you've been to me. I've met a few people at meet-ups, which is so much fun. I love being able to talk to people face-to-face after chatting here on-line for so long.