Laughlin

Last weekend I engaged in the political process by campaigning for Obama in Laughlin, Nevada. Since it is now November my feverish obsession with the race has consumed me entirely. Not that I'm particulary worried about the outcome but My. Eye. Is. On. The. Prize. I canvassed with my new BFF (hi Bobo, hi!) which means we went door to door reminding people to vote and asking them how they felt about the upcoming elections, offering the most convincing, persuasive and polite reasons why they should vote for Obama (yes, I do plan on getting as much social mileage out of the situation as possible). We ran the gamut of responses from doors shut hastily in our faces to enthusiastic endorsements for OUR candidate.
To see people telling you that they plan on voting for Obama, our most common response by the way, who come from completely different backgrounds and experiences than you, ones that might not be the most conducive to voting for such an exciting and new candidate really can be quite moving if you let it be. I would say my favorite Laughlin citizen I had the pleasure of talking with would be Daisy who was an enthusiastic Obama supporter but didn't know her voting location which we were able to provide, also gaining points were her cat, bad leg and general Eddie Beale vibe. A close second was a sweet and tender thug who wasn't on our list of potential persuasion voters but answered the door shirtless and tattooed, whispering us good luck sincerely . Even recalling the memory has my knees buckling and head going slightly dizzy. DEFINITELY the worst was GAIL who we never actually spoke to but we did get an ear full from her irate husband who screamed and threatened to call the cops on us. Right before him was this uppity older woman who was reading a trashy romance novel and we clearly interrupted her session as she was seriously crotchety.
Well now that I've skimmed the surface of what went down (the stay at the Tropicana Express deserves a post of its own) the only thing left to do is filter the experience through the pop culture medium. The only way I know how to relate to or communicate with others. The easiest shorthand for expression/emotion in my HUMBLE opinion. This fits surprisingly well.