KNOCKING FOR CHANGE

The breathtaking panoramic vistas of Gary.

Kirsten & i crossed state borders yesterday for Change. Beaten down by MoveOn.orgs' seventeen thousand daily emails, we got our ass into gear (a false sign-up for the day after Halloween was switched to Sunday once the hangover made it well apparent we were in no state to knock on doors all day) and zipped along on the expressway and landed in the unbelievably economically depressed city of Gary, Indiana to canvass for Change.

We waited in line for Change, we received a brief training session for Change, we got Obama pins for Change, and then we headed out to the most run-down community I've ever witnessed -- not that I've knocked on the doors of Cabrini Green, but this was blocks upon blocks of boarded up and semi-abandoned houses and crack dens, with a few family homes sprinkled in between. We knocked on around 70 doors, urging people to vote early and giving out information on where and how to vote. For the most part, just mentioning Obama's name brought smiles to understandably suspicious faces (What are these two blonde, white, cheerful chicks doing on my doorstep?). 

It was fun, and rather invigorating and inspiring, despite the run-down neighborhood and the pregnant lady who warned from her doorstep "You girls should be careful, there was a shooting up the block from here just last night." Uh, thanks. Apart from slipping voter registration envelopes under doors in London with meg, i'd never canvassed before. We ended most exchanges by chirping "Happy Obama Day!" which people seemed to dig. 

"Naw, I didn't vote for Obama, I voted for elvis PRESLEY." yelled one man from his living room.

"I've gotten 20 calls, 15 emails, and about 12 knocks on my door from you people already," my face begins to fall at this point, yet he continues "and boy am I glad to see you again. I'm grateful to everyone who's trying to turn this red state blue!" His pants were unzipped, his shirt unbuttoned, and his suspenders crooked, but that goofy old man made my day.

"Happy Obama Day!"