The Trip Begins

Six thirty AM Saturday morning came earlier than usual. I was in a deep sleep, enjoying a vivid predawn dream when present day yelled up the stairs, "Wake up, Joe".

Marra and I had decided to break up the long drive to New Hampshire by stopping off at my sister's home in NJ for a visit and a rest, and I was comfortably snoozing in an upstairs bedroom, a bedroom recently vacated by my niece. Fortunately, my niece left a mattress on the floor and a roof for over my head. In the dream, I was walking Marra through the swim club of my youth, which we had passed in the real world on the drive in. The Columbian Swim Club in this early morning dream, however, was new and improved, almost unrecognizable to me. A new sun deck, a separate diving pool, renovated changing rooms. Quite modern, including a roof over the entire complex with skylights that let in warmth and sunshine. There remained enough clues in the upscale design of the pool area to remind me of the old days, and I was comforted by the familiar landmarks. At the same time, I was disappointed that the physical context of my upbringing was gone. Marra couldn't share that context by walking the same path as me. She couldn't see exactly what I had seen. Everything had been repaved, repainted, and rearranged. Her experience of my world would be different.

So with this in mind, we set off from NJ for New Hampshire Saturday morning. We had already traveled 4 plus hours, and we knew we had 5 more to go. Fortunately the weather was gorgeous, sunny and clear, and the traffic was non-existent (at least in our direction, the only direction that mattered to me!). The drive was pleasantly uneventful. We stopped for breakfast in Connecticut at McDonald's, and only stopped one other time for a quick bathroom break. My goal was 12 noon in Manchester, lunchtime at the Global Warming Conference we were scheduled to attend. We pulled into the hotel parking garage at 12:05 PM. Pretty close, I'll take it.

At first, I thought we were in the wrong hotel. The first event we passed inside was a large gun show. Gun show enthusiasts and global environmental activists sharing the same real estate. Smells like trouble, doesn't it? Add the facts that grown men in camouflage were walking through the lobby carrying assault weapons, and I was ready to see 3 presidential candidates in the building. Islamic terrorists or NRA separatists...both scare the pacifist in me.

We headed for the registration desk of the conference. We were the last to register for the entire conference, a sign that perhaps we would continue to have good luck. We were in time for our lunch of grilled chicken, mixed vegetables and yellow rice. I thought it was typical hotel fare. Marra thought it was the food of kings. We sat right up close to the podium, thinking the candidates would speak in this room. Wrong. We were up close for the lunch time keynote from the head of the National Wildlife Federation (or maybe Foundation). We ate chicken, but this guy was serving liberal red meat. Both were filling for the crowd.

We sat with 2 nice ladies from New Hampshire who were developing climate strategies for their communities. It seems that the states are leading the Federal government on climate issues. States see the crisis, and our acting without waiting. California is again first in this area, but other coastal states are writing their own plans and legislation to combat global warming.

The ladies tried to engage Marra in conversation about her political views, to which she responded with a few shrugs, a few grunts, and some well placed "I don't know"'s. I think she was focused on the food, frankly, but these ladies were asking stuff a bit over her head. I myself felt out of place. We had come to see the candidates, and if they had been speaking at a conference on expanding nuclear power, we might have been there, too. I felt like a party crasher. But, when in Rome...

Lunch ended, and we rushed out to get a great seat for McCain's speech. The room held about 500 attendees, with tables arranged in long rows. Marra and I sat in the front row of the far left section of seats. We had a perfect view of the podium.

McCain was right on time. He looked exactly the same as he does on TV, although I had expected him to look older in person. Blue jacket, tie, sweater vest. Very conservative looking, an image he needs to cultivate more if he wants to win a Republican primary. He began by saying that the global climate issue is important because "We're here today for young ladies like this one over here", and he was gesturing at Marra. Marra's first recognition by a nationally ranked candidate for President. If I wasn't jacked up before, I sure was now. We were in New Hampshire, watching the big players perform.

McCain framed the environmental issue in an interesting way. He said, "Suppose we're wrong about global warming and we do something about it. Worst case, our air and water becomes cleaner. Now, suppose we are right about global warming and we do nothing. The generations of the future will never forgive us." In his view, the choice is clear. We must act. The pro-green crowd ate it up. They did not equally cheer his support for an expansion of nuclear power, especially since there is a crumbling reactor located downwind of New Hampshire right now. McCain cited France as generating 80% of its' power through nuclear, a rare Republican using France as an example of what to do. He reminded us that this country has been sailing nuclear ships and subs around the world for decades without incident. OK, that's true. Then again, I've never had a serious car accident, so perhaps I should stop wearing my seat belt. He is against a gas tax, which he argued would be paid more heavily by those with less money. He made a good point on this issue, using DC as the example. He said that those with the least money move the furthest away from their jobs in Washington, DC. Those with the most money live close in to DC. Now, who would pay the high cost of a gas tax? Right, those who live the further away. Good example.

He really took on some aggressive questioners with his patented "straight talk", and was forceful and polite when he disagreed. He was never disagreeable. I wish we could have attended his town hall meeting. It was clear why New Hampshire residents supported him in 2000. His brand of conservatism speaks to them.

Next, Dennis Kucinich takes the stage.

JS