Ten thoughts/observations from my experiences thus far:
- You can identify the Secret Service by the flak vests they wear that say “Secret Service”…hmmmmm
- Denver is a small town. Almost four days in and only half a tank down. In a Durango.
- Speaking of driving, I am confident I would make an excellent Editor/Chauffeur should the job-posting ever surface (read: logistics are a bitch)
- Pick-up drivers like rolling down their windows and say ridiculous things while stopped at stoplights:
- Man motions to roll down window. I acquiesce. “So. John McCain.” Me: What about him? “Pretty awesome, huh?” Me: Yep, the best. [laughter] Aaaand, scene.
- Man motions to roll down window. Max acquiesces. Man cocks his head towards an African-American woman with a sideways pony-tail died red at the tips walking along the sidewalk. “Chicken-head Obama supporter!” he growls before driving away. Max feels sick. To be fair to the host city, he had Arizona plates.
- One way streets, police barricades, miscellaneous protests, and Denverites with complete disregard for street-crossing signals will ruin your day quickly
- “Change you can believe in” is the most co-opted phrase at the convention, appearing on signs, t-shirts, and billboards in various, reworked stages of irony (see below)
- Best dig on John McCain came from Biz Markie: “Vote for Obama. This right here is no country for old men.”
- Don’t sit in front of Tom Hayden at a panel, unless you would rather hear him talk the entire time instead of the panelists
- Don’t attempt to make a schedule for any given day, unless it is for purely comedic purposes when you judge it against what actually transpired
- You know you’re in town for a political convention when you see this as you’re buying a cup of coffee:
