Last night, Linda, Julia, and I attended the Obama-Springsteen rally in downtown Cleveland (along with about 80,000 other people!). I hadn't been this excited about politics since September 25, 1960, when I saw Jack Kennedy driving to the annual Democratic Party Steer Roast at Euclid Beach Park. My Dad had found us a spot on the motorcade and we got a brief glimpse of Kennedy as he drove by.
Back to present day--We arrived in downtown Cleveland around 2:00 PM, parking on East 22nd street near Cleveland State University. The parking was free--but about a mile and a half from the rally site (Malls A, B, and C behind the Cleveland Public Library Building and adjacent to the Convention Center). When we got within a half mile of the rally site, we were disheartened by a gigantic line (maybe a mile long!) trying to get to the rally. Everyone who wanted to stand close had to pass through an airport-type metal detector. After about 45 minutes in line, we passed through the detector. Linda and Julia had no problem; but I was wanded and patted down and found harmless enough. When we got into Mall B, we managed to locate a spot near the handicapped seating, only three rows behind a metal separator. We had an unobstructed view of the stage, which was about 100 feet away. The rally seemed like it was starting on time with the Pledge of Allegiance and a brief speech by Senator Sherrod Brown. Then wonderful music began pouring out of the huge banks of loudspeakers. People were singing, dancing, and having a grand time. The audience was a true rainbow coalition, every stripe of humanity. The one flaw was that we had to wait and wait, and for my semi-old bones, the waiting was tough. My feet became nearly numb and my back started hurting. Sometime around 5:45 PM we saw a fairly large airplane coming in for a landing at Burke Lakefront Airport, and we knew that the waiting would be over soon. As we awaited Bruce Springsteen, I noticed the security all around us: helicopters buzzing overhead, police-snipers on the rooftops, FBI, TSA, and Secret Service people everywhere--and I was glad for that. Around 6PM, we noticed that guitars had been set on stage, and minutes later Bruce Springsteen (along with his wife and children) bounded onto stage and began wailing out his great songs, accompanied by his strong rhythm guitar and haunting harmonica--ecstatic, passionate music. He sang "Thunder Road," and a song about Youngstown, Ohio. And then went into a great song called "The Rising" (a term that any Irish patriot treasures). All in all, he sang 6 songs. And then after about a half hour of music, he introduced, in one of the most poetic and beautiful ways possible, Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama, and the two Obama daughters. [more coming--with photos]
Back to present day--We arrived in downtown Cleveland around 2:00 PM, parking on East 22nd street near Cleveland State University. The parking was free--but about a mile and a half from the rally site (Malls A, B, and C behind the Cleveland Public Library Building and adjacent to the Convention Center). When we got within a half mile of the rally site, we were disheartened by a gigantic line (maybe a mile long!) trying to get to the rally. Everyone who wanted to stand close had to pass through an airport-type metal detector. After about 45 minutes in line, we passed through the detector. Linda and Julia had no problem; but I was wanded and patted down and found harmless enough. When we got into Mall B, we managed to locate a spot near the handicapped seating, only three rows behind a metal separator. We had an unobstructed view of the stage, which was about 100 feet away. The rally seemed like it was starting on time with the Pledge of Allegiance and a brief speech by Senator Sherrod Brown. Then wonderful music began pouring out of the huge banks of loudspeakers. People were singing, dancing, and having a grand time. The audience was a true rainbow coalition, every stripe of humanity. The one flaw was that we had to wait and wait, and for my semi-old bones, the waiting was tough. My feet became nearly numb and my back started hurting. Sometime around 5:45 PM we saw a fairly large airplane coming in for a landing at Burke Lakefront Airport, and we knew that the waiting would be over soon. As we awaited Bruce Springsteen, I noticed the security all around us: helicopters buzzing overhead, police-snipers on the rooftops, FBI, TSA, and Secret Service people everywhere--and I was glad for that. Around 6PM, we noticed that guitars had been set on stage, and minutes later Bruce Springsteen (along with his wife and children) bounded onto stage and began wailing out his great songs, accompanied by his strong rhythm guitar and haunting harmonica--ecstatic, passionate music. He sang "Thunder Road," and a song about Youngstown, Ohio. And then went into a great song called "The Rising" (a term that any Irish patriot treasures). All in all, he sang 6 songs. And then after about a half hour of music, he introduced, in one of the most poetic and beautiful ways possible, Barack Obama, his wife Michelle Obama, and the two Obama daughters. [more coming--with photos]
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