The following is an essay that was submitted by Ms. Angela Threatt, a marvelously talented writer who lives in the Tidewater area of Virginia. For those of us who live in Virginia, we know that our state is one of the major "battlegrounds" for the 2008 presidential campaign. We are increasingly aware that the Tidewater area is the epicenter of the Virginia battleground. Please enjoy reading Ms Threatt's essay on the Obama experience that is so common to many of us.
--Michael
************************************************************************
Obamamania----
I understand now that I am experiencing - Obamamania. As I mentioned earlier, when I heard on Tuesday that Obama was in Norfolk, I was in jammies and slippers. As transcendent as the experience in Newport News (NN) was, I could not bring myself to hurriedly dress and get over there, hoping I could get in. In just a few weeks, things had changed. It was cold outside. Getting dark earlier. And I am a hermit who likes to be as snug as a bug in a rug. How pitiful, I thought, that you won't go out and see that man again, after he has inspired you and so many others so. And he outside talking to people in the dark and in the rain. Ya'll know ya'll saw him on t.v. with the rain running down his face. Obama is working some imagery. He likes an outdoor rally and McCain likes an indoor rally. When McCain/Palin came to Va Beach (VB) recently, they were indoors, at the Convention Center. Obama was at the VA Beach amphitheatre. Outside. Come rain or snow is the unstated message, I'm out here with you. How smart. McCain is coming to NN Saturday. Indoors, to CNU. Obama was outside with us, in the sunshine.So I tried to convince myself to get dressed again and drive to Norfolk. I mean really, how many chances like this in a lifetime come along? This whole experience of having candidates in the state so much is new, b/c VA has never been a swing state in my life. And Obama been round here so much I was starting to wonder if he had a timeshare at the Beach. I respect his grind, and the opportunity to watch history in the making. Still, I weighed the options. Venture out in the cold to Harbor Park, not knowing what parking was like, park on Granby Street (walker friendly) and walk all the way over there by myself in the dark, or park on Tidewater Drive (not walker friendly) and feel uncomfortable, or stay home in my jammies. Hmmmm...but this is history, I thought. Yes, but it's also dark and cold, I've never been to Harbor Park (it's all about sports) and don't know what parking is like, but I do know I don't want to park and walk on Tidewater Drive by myself at night. Even though I felt guilty for being a wuss, my thoughts took me back to the Newport News rally...It was a bright and sunny Indian summer day in early October. We were literally breaking a sweat walking over, and during the speech, bottles of water were thrown into the crowd. A few people had to be escorted out b/c of the heat. The sun glinted off the James River, where a NN Fire Dept. boat floated up close to the crowd. Sailboats passed. The huge carrier, the George W. Bush, was parked at the shipyard, almost as a staged backdrop for the secret service men & women and the stage. It was great.I told myself, you're not being a wuss, it's just going to be impossible to top that day. So I stayed home. But when I heard Obama would be back in 2 days, I said, even if I can't make it out of the office at 4, which I'll need to to even remotely have a chance of making it, I'm going over there to check out the crowd.But I was ambivalent about going to this particular rally for other reasons. I thought it a good idea to hold it at the amphitheater, as it could certainly hold the crowd, but the venue didn't have the appeal to me that the NN venue did. That NN experience was transcendent b/c there were so many different types of people descending on a part of town that I believe one day will truly be revitalized, that symbolizes to me the type of communities that I believe will benefit from an Obama presidency. I didn't even care if I got in that day; I just wanted to see all those people in downtown Newport News. The way Obama has brought people together excites me, and I believe that one day the blighted inner city area of NN will be revitalized with a rainbow coalition of residents, sort of like Brookland in D.C., but maybe even better. The amphitheater I thought, was great for parking, but what symbolism would it have? I expected it would feel much like any experience driving to a concert there. There is no nearby neighborhood to park in and no need to - you're just one car in a sea of cars, typical of suburban Hampton Roads, and especially of VB. You sit in traffic on the big suburban highway as you approach the entrance, you turn in, the attendants direct you to the next empty spot on the grass. It's all very neat and ordered, just like most of VB. Manicured. Once on the lawn, you might have a transcendent, groovy, experience, but getting there is not a part of it.Back to the office. When 4:05 rolled around, things had settled down activity wise, but I wasn't feeling settled about what I'd accomplished for the day. I needed time to decompress and think about what I might have overlooked. I told myself, traffic is going to be horrendous, you're going to feel rushed and thinking about work. Stay here and tie up loose ends. I piddled around a bit, pulled out some paperwork. Couldn't concentrate. 4:30. It's too late now, you might as well forget it. 5:00. I'm going anyway. I packed my stuff and hit the road. Pulled out of the lot at 5:12. Office park traffic. Jumped off I-64 to avoid HRBT backup. Got back on at Hampton U. and inched toward the tunnel. Normal rush hour traffic. No way I'll make it before the event starts, but maybe I'll be able to be a part of the crowd in some way. Curious as to exactly where traffic would back up and I'd know this is it, this is the Obama traffic. Pitiful, I know. What's exciting about Obama traffic? But I just wanted to be a part in some way.I figured I'd make it to the 264 interchange and there would be a slight backup and I could keep going to the Indian River exit. Not. I got to the interchange, saw the people entering and traffic coming to a complete halt. I figured ok, this is it. This is the Obama traffic. This is like the 26th street exit when Obama was in NN. It's like Gandalf saying "You shall not pass!" Just like I got off then at Terminal Ave to go the back way, I got off at Newtown Rd. and started the long trek, stoplight to stoplight, down Princess Anne Rd.Bumper to bumper until I actually got close to the venue. When I got to Concert Dr., I was puzzled at how few cars were turning. Surely there were other late people expecting to be turned away? They were probably all still trapped at that interchange. At the next turn, there was only one other car going in with me. He'd gotten off at that Newtown exit with me. I parked, got out, and a few minutes later saw people walking out. It was over. Obama was on a tight schedule, not like that Saturday in early October where the event started at 10 and he spoke at 12 or 1. He was in FL in the morning, VB in the early evening, and scheduled to be in MO later tonight. So I guess he spoke and rolled out. So now it was time for Plan B - people watching. I was glad to see the huge turnout. When I first pulled in, I wished I could be above it all, so I could see the sea of cars. Once you're in it, you can't really see it. The people watching was disappointing. The people trickled out, not like the stream of us that walked back from the NN rally over the bridge from downtown NN to East End together, some still holding up signs. The atmosphere was just different. It was dark and cold. People carried signs and flyers, but the way you carry trinkets from the fair, balled up in your hands. On the way back from the NN rally people were holding up their signs in the air like the news was still taping. This was just as I expected; it felt like the dismissal of any amphitheater concert. All the fun was had inside. Even the diversity was predictable. A white couple carrying an Asian child. Two black women with an elderly white woman walking between them her arms linked through theirs. Now these were sweet sights, but my overall feeling was not excitement, b/c I've already been impressed by the diversity you can see at the amphitheater, like at the Earth, Wind, & Fire and Chicago concert. Young and old, black, white, & more. Oh well. So I sat there with everybody else for 45 minutes waiting to be let out. Finally, the huge parking lot spit us back out onto the street.Gridlock on Princess Anne again. Ambulances on the other side of the median speed past. Out of the corner of my eye, a police car speeds along the *sidewalk*, past the gridlock on our side. I sit there contemplating the skill it takes to drive that fast w/out running your tires off the curb on one side or into the fire hydrants and light posts on the other side.Took me an hour total to drive the 35 miles there. 40 minutes of that was just getting from exit to exit, and I didn't even make it to the Indian River exit. On the way back, it took me a little over 20 minutes to get from the Indian River exit all the way home. Pretty cool. So it was a fun drive.There was an image that stuck with me, that made the trip worthwhile. When you cross the water from Hampton to Norfolk, you can see the sailboats and buildings of Fort Monroe in Hampton to your left, and the ships and carriers at the Norfolk Navy Yard ahead and to your right. After I got out of the tunnel and was about to cross into Norfolk, I saw 2 helicopters above the water, just off the shore of the Naval yard. They caught my eye, b/c I seldom see copters. Planes, yes, all the time, from Langley in Hampton and Oceana in VB. When I was at Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago, I heard commercial flights taking off from the Norfolk airport next door. But copters? A rare sight. I knew it was rare, b/c I did a doubletake - the water was swirling underneath the copter, a striking and unfamiliar sight I had to figure out. It finally hit me that b/c the copter was low, the blades were making the water swirl that way, in a circular vortex. I had never seen that before. I wondered if the copters had anything to do with Obama being in town, but figured it was a weird coincidence, b/c the navy yard is pretty far from the amphitheater. Still, I enjoyed the image. I flashed back to how I began to value the military and its presence here when 9-11 happened. Later, when I arrived at the amphitheater, I watched a lone helicopter circle above and realized, yes, those are for Obama. That was it for me. That was the moment that made the drive worthwhile, but I didn't realize it until I was at home in bed, still restless, just coming to terms with my Obamamania. Thinking of those copters made me proud. Proud of our country. Proud of our region. Proud of Obama. I just know our ancestors are smiling down on us. This man is bringing people together in a way I haven't been privileged to see before in my lifetime. We are about to make history, or not, and I realize that I have crossed the line...A few weeks or months ago, a friend queried: what will we do if he loses? I answered that I for one am prepared for McCain to win. I won't be surprised at all, I said. I can't believe I said that. My cynicism has been burned away. I've been infected with hope. It's like that moment in a relationship when you realize you're not just dating anymore. Your feelings are involved. You're going to be devastated if this ends. It's like that with me and Obama. But it's not just me and Obama. It's every single person out there that I sat with for 45 minutes waiting to get out of the amphitheatre. Obama's bringing us together already. He has the power to inspire and unite. He's intelligent - imagine that, an intelligent president, after 8 years! His ideas are cohesive and progressive. Go green and maybe we can stop fighting over oil and crying over prices. Imagine that. I'm going to be devastated if this relationship ends. But you know what, I have a funny feeling that regardless of the turnout, it won't end. Just like that old standby, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have...what does that mean but that love is a cataclysmic experience that changes us, and we are never the same. And whether this experience turns out to be a poignant memory or hand-holding into old age, I think this journey has changed us all. Obama's journey has been our journey. We are forever changed.
Comments are closed for this post.
