He Had Me at Hope

He Had Me at "Hope"

(President Barack Obama's 50th Birthday Celebration)

The phone call that rocked my world came on Sunday, just three days before President Barack Obama’s 50th birthday celebration in Chicago. I have been captivated by President Obama since I first heard him speak at the televised 2004 Democratic National Convention. Since that fateful day in February of 2007, when he announced his run for the Presidency, I have lived and breathed little else.  However, I never imagined for a single moment that something as wonderful as this phone call, informing me I was to attend his birthday party, would happen to me.

My 24-hour adventure after winning the “50 for 50” challenge with three other volunteer campaign workers from around the country is something I find hard to put into words.  After two days of frantic preparation for the trip, I was introduced to my fellow attendees via email on Tuesday morning.  We quickly “friended” each other on Facebook and began getting to know each other with the giddiness of teenagers preparing for the prom.

The next day we all arrived in Chicago at different times...Judy from Orgeon, Kip from Virginia, Jessicah from Indiana, and me from little old Pawleys Island, SC.  We introduced ourselves to each other in the lobby of the Congress Plaza Hotel at 3:30, just before a car arrived to take us to the President’s birthday celebration.  In the car our conversations were exuberant.  After all, we share one very important bond: our tremendous love for our President Barack Obama.

After arriving at the Aragon Ballroom, we were given first-class treatment.  The DNC and Obama for America folks could not have taken better care of us.  Emily, the OFA staffer, who had been our guide all along, met us outside.  She hurried us to a line where we signed in, got our wrist bands for admittance, and were ushered through security.  Next we were directed to special seating in a balcony section from which we would watch the entertainment and hear the President speak. Hor d’oeuvres and cocktails were provided, and we truly felt like we were VIPs.

For the next two hours, the ballroom filled with people.  We listened to music by OK Go, Jennifer Hudson, and Herbie Hancock, after which the excitement built to a feverish pitch until the moment we began singing “Happy Birthday” to the President.  On stage, he quietly slipped from behind the curtain and the crowd roared.  It was so wonderful to see him seemingly relaxed, happy to be back in his hometown, among friends.  For the next 20 minutes or so, he thrilled us with a very familiar campaign-like speech, which fired me up like it was 2008 all over again.

Then the moment came I had been waiting for: the photo line and the chance to speak to the President.  I knew what I wanted to say.  I had rehearsed it over and over in my head.  Soon I was introducing myself as a school teacher from Georgetown, SC (where Mrs. Obama has family ties) and he was asking what grade I taught.  I told him I first met him in February 2007 in Florence, SC, where I first volunteered for his campaign.  He flashed that wonderful smile of his.  Then I told him I wanted him to know that we were still behind him in South Carolina, that we love him and are praying for him every day.  He thanked me and said he needed our prayers.  We both turned, the photographer snapped the photo, and I had just started to walk away when he jokingly said, “I can tell you are a teacher because you were so well prepared!”  I beamed from ear to ear and walked away with a heart full of joy.  I am 58 years old and have experienced the birth and blessing of two beautiful granddaughters.  And now, having met and spoken with the man I admire more than anyone else on earth, well - it doesn’t get any better than this.

Yet one of the most memorable events for me actually happened after the birthday party, after we left the ballroom.  Kip, Jessicah, Judy and I were walking a few blocks to meet the car that would take us back to the hotel.  Naturally, the street in front of the Aragon Ballroom was barricaded for several blocks and around the barricades stood ordinary citizens of Chicago, lined up on both sides of the street.  They could never have afforded the ticket prices to attend the party, but they were hoping to catch a glimpse of the President.  As we passed, a number of them stopped us.  They asked if we had been inside, if we had seen the President, and we responded by explaining how we had won a contest that allowed us to attend the celebration.  I don’t think I will ever forget the excitement in their eyes, on their faces as they listened.  It seemed as if they were just as thrilled hearing about our experience as we were, having had the experience.  They wanted to know every detail; they seemed to hang on our every word.  And here’s the thing:  It was so apparent, the love and admiration they felt for President Obama that just hearing about our experience, or hearing about him second hand, was good enough for them.  It’s those faces I will never forget, of everyday Americans.  The excitement, the hope!