I love GOTV.
It's a great excuse to call people or knock on their doors and talk to neighbors you've never met before.
Thought I'd share a couple of the funnier moments.
Here is a note I received from one of our cats (Peeps) about the neglect of the kitty treats due to the busyness:
Head below for more and to share your stories.
There's nothing like honesty
After I introduced myself and asked for Cheryl, the woman who answered the phone yelled out:
Cheryl, it's for you! It's the damn Democrats!
When Cheryl answered, I introduced myself as one of her neighbors who was volunteering for the damn Democrats. She laughed.
We got along fabulously and she ended up volunteering.
Things that look funny from a distance
As I approached a house in College Hill, a woman was standing outside swinging a flyswatter at the air. From a distance, it looked pretty random.
My first thought was, do I want to disturb this woman in her endeavors (whatever they may be)?
But my curiosity got the better of me so I approached. She continued swinging the flyswatter with reckless abandon.
She looked at me hostilely as I approached. This is pretty normal, however, as most people think you're some kind of salesman.
I quickly introduced myself as a neighbor who was just out encouraging people to vote. Like most people, her expression lightened quickly once she realized I wasn't a salesman.
"I was just trying to get these bees," she said.
Now I could see that yes, indeed, there were bees she was trying to kill. I was glad for both me and her that there were bees.
I think I've got the wrong number
I had a very hard time getting off the phone with one older gentleman. He kept asking why I was calling him and couldn't seem to understand what we were doing.
I told him we were looking for help canvassing to get out the vote. He asked about canvassing and when I explained it to him he said:
Oh, they tried that downtown years ago with the homeless. It didn't work. I don't go downtown much anymore.
Still not sure how he got on the Democratic volunteer call list.
Biggest sigh of relief
I pulled up on my Scooter to the house of one of our precinct executives. He was sitting on the front porch smoking a cigarette.
I asked if he was John XXXX.
He hesitantly replied "Yes".
After I introduced myself as a volunteer and we got talking he explained his nervousness. He told me he was going through a divorce and thought I was there to serve him papers.
He said that as I was approaching he was trying to figure out whether he should try to leap the porch wall and run for it.
Nina Turner and Lynn Whitfield at Cecil Thomas HQ
This was just cool.
If you ever have an opportunity to hear our candidate for Secretary of State Nina Turner speak, do.
She and Lynn Whitfield (the actress from A Thin Line Between Love and Hate) fired up the crowd at a rally for Cecil Thomas, our Democratic candidate for Ohio State Senator in the 9th District (seen in the background of the photo with his wife Pam).
She is one of the best public speakers I've ever seen.
Any good stories from the GOTV trail?
GOTV can be stressful. That's why I try to remember moments like these.
Have you seen or heard anything this year that was funny or memorable?
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David Akadjian is the author of The Little Book of Revolution: A Distributive Strategy for Democracy.