Welcome to Connect! Unite! Act!
A daily series, Connect! Unite! Act! seeks to create face-to-face networks in each congressional district. Groups regularly socialize but also get out the vote, support candidates and engage in other local political actions that help our progressive movement grow and exert influence on the powers-that-be. Visit us at Daily Kos every morning at 7:30 A.M. Pacific Time to see how you can get involved. The comment thread is fun and light-hearted, but we're serious about moving the progressive political agenda forward. |
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Many years ago, for 15 wonderful months, I owned a 1965 Thunderbird. Yes, one of those with the cool sequential turn signals. It was a beautiful dark maroon which might have been a repaint job. But generally it had not been cared for well. It was not a pampered showpiece only driven on Sundays by a little old lady from Pasadena. It had rust damage, heavy wear on the seats, missing chrome, and a leaky oil pan. But I got it for cheap.
I was foolish and trusting enough to drive it all over New England, including on some fairly deserted back roads where no one in their right mind would ever want to be in an unreliable car. I was lucky enough that it only broke down during city driving and I was never stranded anywhere because of it. I didn’t get very much time out of it, but I adored that car. In its way it was a head turner.
Two decades after that, I inherited an old luxury car that was beautiful in its day but by the time I got it, it was on its last legs and being held together by duct tape. I can’t even remember all of the things that were wrong with that car. It guzzled gas, the tires didn’t hold air, none of the automatic windows worked and the broken heater was meant that even with shearling boots my feet were cold in winter. At the end I never bothered to lock it—who would steal it? But I loved that car too.
One of the things I loved about both those cars was that it made people underestimate me. When people looked down their noses at the bucket of bolts I was driving, I felt like Columbo—smiling at my secret. They would see the car and make all kinds of assumptions about my life, my education, my finances (well, they were right about that). I always got a kick out of situations when people are expecting very little from me and then find out who they are really dealing with LOL!
I just don’t understand folks who have to get a new car every year for style reasons. Fashion in clothes is one thing, but cars? Sure, if your work puts you on the road and you need a really reliable car, that’s one thing, and I know folks who get cars through their jobs and he company fleet is turned over every year. But spending your own money just so the neighbors can see you already have a 2017 car when it’s still summer of 2016? I never cared about those kind of bragging rights.
I’ve been lucky that I’ve never lived in a part of the country where car snobbery was serious business to the extent of costing me work or interfering with the practice of my profession. In New England, there is almost a cachet attached to driving a 20 year old luxury car. It means you don’t GAF about what people think of you and whether you have money or not. Some of the wealthiest people I’ve ever known drove old rust buckets specifically because they didn’t want to identify themselves as having money. And some of the poorest people I’ve known have been extremely proud of the tricks they knew to keep old cars on the road as long as possible.
I have been car-free for five years now, dealing with public transportation: buses and subways, taxis and Lyft. But even if I could afford a new car, I think I’d rather have a older car—less likely to draw attention, less likely to be stolen, and just one more way to weed out people who judge my outside trappings rather than the content of my character.
Questions of the day:
Have you ever had an old junky car that you loved and could not bear to part with?
Do you live in a part of the country where people are judged by the cars they drive?
Names for a beat up old car vary by region of the country—what do they call it in your area?
start up soundtrack
LET'S BUILD IN-REAL-LIFE COMMUNITIES!
Our team is here to provide support and guidance to new and existing volunteer leaders of each regional and state group, helping them with recruiting, organizing and executing social and action events. We invite you to join in this effort to build our community. There are many ways to pitch in. If there isn't a group to join near you, please start one.
View Interactive Map of Daily Kos Communities in a full screen map
Colorado: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Mountain
Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern
North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern
Missouri: Wednesday Evenings
Kansas: Monday Evenings
We appreciate everyone’s work on the ground locally while the general is ramping up. Please let us know in the comments what you’re working on. For example, GOTV, down-ballot campaign volunteering, blogging about our races, etc.
All hands on deck.
Let us know if you’ve got any events that would be of interest to other readers of Daily Kos IN-YOUR-REAL-LIFE space.
Paul Clements for Congress Weekend of Action!
Saturday, August 27 at 1:30 PM
Saturday's canvass will be based in Saugatuck/Douglas. We will gather between 1:30 and 2:00 PM at the private residence of a Daily Kos community member just south of Holland for walk sheets, a brief orientation, and to carpool to Saugatuck. (Parking is scarce there on August Saturdays.) We will reconvene back at our staging location for a potluck dinner at7:00 PM.
Sunday, August 28 at 1:00 PM
Sunday's canvass will be based in Kalamazoo. We will gather for a potluck brunch at 1:00 PM at a private residence of another Daily Kos member in Kalamazoo, then head out with our walk sheets after a similar orientation to canvass from 2:00 to 6:00 PM. Please note: due to space limitations, each of the potlucks will be capped at the first 20 people to respond -- but canvassing is open to all.
Kosmail peregrine kate to participate and there are more details at her diary: Let's Help Elect Paul Clements in MI-6! Daily Kos Weekend of Action, Sat. 8/27 & Sun. 8/28
Seattle & Puget Sound Kos got together Sunday, August 14th to catch up. Even though some were hard-core Berners, they’re all voting for Clinton. Unity. Thanks to bleeding blue for organizing this meet-up!
WOW. Just WOW. See peregrine kate’s diary about connecting Kossacks at the DNC convention. Great job, Kate!
Her commentary is excellent and there’s terrific food pr0n! If you didn’t notice her coverage in her previous diaries while she was there you should look at her diary history. Stellar reporting! Thanks, Kate for hosting this group on behalf of Daily Kos.
The Readers of Daily Kos making a difference!
Houston Area Kos had an last minute meet-up and still had a very decent turnout. Great when local readers of Daily Kos can rally for critical camaraderie. Go Houston Kos!
DKos Asheville gathered on July, 23rd with Gordon20024 driving from Roanoke to provide the catering for the event. People drove from Charlotte and South Carolina! Special guest Tom Sullivan, 1st Vice Chair: (Precinct Organization & Get-Out-The-Vote) of the Buncombe County Democratic Party. More commentary here and more photos here.
Mini-meetup in Nashville, party of two, ZenTrainer and Ladybug53.
Ladybug53 drove over 2 hours to Nashville today to get voter registration supplies (courtesy of Gordon20024) and to talk voter registration with ZenTrainer. About a 5 hour drive round trip. This was according to ZenTrainer’s diary about it. Ladybug53 was in town to see Liberal Redneck live at a comedy club. She left Nashville with T-shirts, pens, registration forms and a clipboard, ready to go. This is what all readers need to do. Register people to vote, get off your duff!
navajo maintains the above event list. Kosmail her if you have any diaries about your event or if you have changes or additions.
Nothing is off topic.