When the Giuliani Town Hall was finished, we weren't ready to leave town. It was a town that longed to be explored, and both Marra and I had Whirlygigs Toy Store in our sights. Nothing captures the spirit of the American town like a local toy store.
The store was staffed by one woman in her late fifties, who was busy guiding a curious shopper in search of the perfect birthday through a selection of developmental toys. This store had all the classics - Etch-A-Sketch, Slinky, Monopoly, Easy Bake Oven, etc. It also stocked plenty of toys we had seen featured in the Baby Einstein video series (yes, we tried making Lucy smarter by plugging her into those shows in times of parental desperation). Marra was committed to buying something for Thomas and Lucy while we were here. Part of that instinct I recognized as her urge to spend someone else's money any chance she got. But the other part was a genuine sense of missing her siblings. It was sweet, and it is the latter motivation that I wanted to reward and encourage. We bought Thomas a Lego car and Lucy "Penguins on a Slide". Frankly, it is too difficult to describe, so I won't even try. Lucy loves it.
After a quick window shop of several other artsy shops, we headed for the car. When we arrived at the van, I noticed a flier under the windshield wiper. Obviously, too big for a parking ticket, so it had to be a political flier. It sure was. Someone had distributed a five page memorandum outlining the connection between our current government problems and the cover up of the Kennedy assassinations true conspirators. Our first encounter with a patriotic nut case! His memo demands that New Hampshire voters stand up during public candidate forums and insist that all documents related to the assassination be released. Only with this truth can we be truly free. "The root cause of America's problems today date back to that terrible day in November 1963." The letter is signed by Paul Kuntzler, who was kind enough to provide his new cell phone number (202.421.0131, but don't mention my name). I will be happy to forward the entire memo for anyone's review, but only upon request. As you can imagine, it tends to ramble.
The plans for the evening were simple - father-daughter time. We were back at the hotel by 4:30, and went straight to the hotel pool. We had the whole pool to ourselves, and it was special for me to have her climbing on me, racing me in the pool, and generally just enjoying my company. The older she gets, the more aware I become of how precious these moments are, and how infrequently we may have them in the future. My passion for presidential politics aside, the purpose of this trip was to share these types of quieter moments with Marra in a setting away from her natural surroundings, away from her natural distractions. A relaxed dip in the pool together was worth every town hall meeting and every house party. "She's getting so big," I cliched to myself.
The father-daughter experience must have been working for Marra, too. We went to the hotel bar/restaurant for a sandwich before church that evening, and she insisted that I not face the TV while football was on. She wanted my undivided attention. I was touched that she wanted so much to communicate; I was embarrassed that she had to ask. Note to self: listen, even when the big game is on.
Dinner, then church, then back to the room for an evening of no baseball on TV for Daddy and my regular place on the bathroom floor with book on New Hampshire primary politics and a beer. A quiet evening at home. Tomorrow would be a full day in Manchester, visiting various campaign headquarters. This would be the real test of Marra's patience.
JS
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