Another week on the trail

This week was equally busy.  And fun.  I don't know if I have written about this before but I have been having more fun than I ever would have imagined.  Seriously.  I had thought it would be painful going door to door but I really like it.  Unfortunately most people are not home when I get there and with the exception of weekends it is hard to find that sweet spot when people are home from work but not busy with dinner, and it is not yet too dark.  But I soldier on.   I love talking to people and hearing their stories.  Sometimes I can relate and sometimes there is something I can do but usually all I can do is listen.  Sometimes people invite me in for a cup of tea and I would absolutely love to stay for a cup but there are are more doors to knock on and I have to limit each visit so I have to say no.

Last week I wrote about Eddie.  I dug up some information that might help him, now if I will only run into him again.  This week I wwrote about the Korean War vet I met.  You can read that in a separate post, http://sharonforrep.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-korean-war-vet.html

 This week I had my first 'bad' experience, though I am told is not uncommon.  Someone has been stealing my lawns signs!  I am appalled.  So far, to my knowledge, 4 signs have been taken down, coincidentally all on dark streets (Winter St and Weston Rd., both in Lincoln) so I am guessing the perpetrator is doing it where the likelihood of being apprehended is low.  I put most of them back up with a note in the margin asking that people kindly leave them alone.  We'll see where that gets me.  Another learning opportunity for me.


Monday morning I had a doctor appointment in Boston so the morning was pretty well shot.  I came home and caught up on some paperwork and laundry and then went door knocking.  First I stopped at Karibu in Waltham to check on the proprietor.  She had something going on and I wanted to make sure all was well.  It is.  This was the day I met the Korean War vet I referred to earlier.  On my way to dinner I stopped by Albert's Photo Studio on Moody St to give them one of my signs.  Kari wasn't there so I chatted with her husband, a veteran with a few things to say.  Around 6 PM I went down the street and had dinner at Lizzies Ice Cream  after which I went to the Domestic Violence prayer service at Christ Church in Waltham.  It was a beautiful, heartbreaking and uplifting service.  It opened with a song, a chant really, these are the words which we repeated over and again.

"Stay with me

remain here with me

watch and pray 

watch and pray"

There were a couple people that shared their stories, a couple readings and we ended with "Amazing Grace".  It was a great way to end the day.



Tuesday I worked at the democratic office in the morning and then did a delivery to someone at Lincoln Commons.  Between route 2 traffic, construction and a chatty person at the Commons, that trip took a fair amount of time!  In the afternoon I went a knockin' on doors, met some more people and put up a couple more signs.  The weather has been just outstanding, I really have been fortunate as I have traversed the city.  I will also say, however, that it is amazing that I am gaining weight on this campaign as opposed to loosing it.  Waltham, for those of you that are not 'in the know', is very hilly and I am up and down stairs all day!

After hiking around the city I stopped by a couple of local shops, passed out some literature, gave the card for the roofer's we recently used at our house to a woman that asked for his contact info when I had seen her previously and then stopped in at Kiwaz, another restaurant and talked with Evette, the owner. 

Wednesday was busy but not entirely with campaign activity.  In the morning we had the FireSide chat at the Lincoln Council on Aging.  This month we had a guest speaker in to talk to us about Hanscom and MassPort, that was very informative.  Then I had a Caring Together meeting in Needham.  Caring Together is a collaboration between the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Children and families.  I sit on the advisory board, we are working on rolling out a collaborative program for working with youth.  That night I had my meet and greet at the Mad Raven in Waltham.   Met a few more people there, including another veteran, saw some folks I have met there previously.

Thursday morning was my adoption support group.  I took the rest of the day off.   Mostly.  I went to the National Archives office on Trapelo Rd in Waltham and applied for my brother's discharge papers from the army.  I am going to apply to be a member of the American Legion auxiliary, I hadn't realized I could do that.  I would love to find ways to better support our veterans.  I also made dinner tonight, though nobody was home so I ate by myself.

Friday I spent two hours at the gym!  It was very fun, first time in a couple weeks.  After that I went to parent teacher conferences at my son's school, knocked on a few more doors and then held signs at the corner of Moody and Main.  Had a few people show up to hold signs with me this time, that was a lot of fun!  In the evening I went to a friend's house to talk campaign strategy.




Saturday morning I took it easy.  Went to the Lincoln Fire Department Open House (which I wrote about here in a separate entry).  After that I met more great people as I knocked on more doors.  One lady told me she had seen just one sign for me in Waltham (there are precious few) and she wondered who I was.  It was a lucky knock on that door.  Went over to the democratic office for the rally but sadly I got there when it was over.  From there I went to the Ugandan Independence Day event where I had been invited to speak.  That was a really interesting event.  Primarily a prayer service with interesting people, great stories, and food.  It is always welcoming talking with the Ugandan community, they are very kind to me.

Sunday morning was a meet and greet at Dunkin Donuts.  Chatted with my table of Stanley supporters again.  Got my work cut out for me with that crew.  Met many more people and then went home to watch the Patriots.