A cloud of neighborhood children has its collective eye on me from the moment I park.

My canvass today is a loop with a few spurs, without much driving. I could walk it easily, and I'd rather walk it, but there's limited time until sunset. So I'll knock a good cluster of doors, drive down a distance, knock another cluster, drive a little bit further, and knock the third cluster.

The cloud of children ranges from preschool to teenage. It's in no way permanent: as it tours the neighborhood, it evaporates here and re-condenses there, losing some droplets and gaining others, sometimes a few houses behind me, sometimes a few houses ahead of me, sometimes a mass both ahead and behind me, with a football passing back and forth. I like the kids

Everybody's different. One man, from his half-opened door, smiles and provides his assessment of my very short speech on the importance of voting this year: A young mother, infant crying in the background, apologizes that she hasn't had time to look up the candidates, but she wants me to know she'll be voting to support Obama. Another woman tells me, We got it! We're on it!

The last door knocked, I'm heading back to my car. And the cloud of children reappears after brief absence

A boy, five or six, decides it is time to let the stranger know the verdict. You can knock on my parent's door, he says

I consult my clipboard. Well, they're not on my list, I say, but there's an immediate disappointment that I can't ignore

I'll tell you what I'm doing, I continue. I'm giving people this and asking them to vote to support the President

I pull out the handout, a little collection of political bills held together by a trifolded message with Obama's picture on the front

If you like, I'll give you one and you can give it to your parents

He takes it, perhaps diffidently. But when he sees the President's face, I hear a delighted Oooh!, and he is moving quickly towards his house with the flier

You are doing invaluable work! Blessings on you!

You just made a huge impression on that little boy, too...

I wonder what he'll say to his parents.

Recommended.

:)

longer than anywhere, but I've lived in the East and in the West and in the middle, North and South

going in a RED state.

Thanks for your hard work!

the state as a whole: Ds have held the top state offices for some years and currently control the state legislature, but a few years back one chamber of the state legislature was split exactly 50-50 and the major committees all had co-chairs instead of chairs; our Congressional delegation is nearly evenly split, with a very slight preponderance of Ds, and one of our US Senate seats has flipped back and forth with regularity for years. I think purple might be a better color description

the reality of struggle for progress

Election day's two weeks off, and every vote matters

:thumbsup:

greetings from Charlotte :hi:

enough to recognize and understand as the President of our country. She thinks his ears are funny and she smiles every time she sees him on tv and tells me, "Ooh, mom, that's President OBAMA!"

It's adorable and a nice moment away from partisan politics.

(((HUGS))) from the great little city of Durham :hi: