2000
Candidate Insider
Weblog
October 08, 2003
Sunday's Rally in Sacramento
My headquarters was parked
at the "No on Recall" corner !
I had put my pro-Arnold banner
on each side of my camper
a few days earlier,
and had been spending nights
parked at a West Sac truck stop
to avoid vandalism.
Sunday morning I awoke at 4 or 5 a.m.
and drove up "N" St. to find
some media vehicles and
lots of "no parking" signs.
So I swung around to 11th,
and was the fifth vehicle back,
facing the Capitol and the
rally site. Not a bad location,
really, but it got better.
I went out and schmoozed with
some media people who were
having fun taking pictures
with the State Trooper on duty.
A special bond forms among workers
required to work at 5 a.m.
I mentioned that I really
wished I could have that
front parking place and,
after I was finished snapping
some group pictures for them,
Lo !, the front parking space
was empty ! I rushed to my
camper and pulled up and
was parked right at the corner
of 11th and N, with no vehicles
in front of me.
Then I got several "join arnold"
yard signs from the Arnold
volunteers and taped them
to my camper.
At 8 a.m., expecting a full day,
I returned to the camper to rest.
After a while, I heard the music
getting REALLY loud like a rock
concert. Then I heard the loud
chanting of the anti-recall
people and knew it was
time to get up.
By the sound of things,
I was anticipating possible
violence. I put on a dark suit
and stood atop my camper,
and acted like an agent,
pretending to be talking
to people on my cell phone.
I was quite secure and
authoratative, like a
trooper on a horse, and
was at the very corner
that the anti-recall people
had apparently selected
as their gathering spot.
Having a pro-Arnold camper
on their corner with an "agent"
standing on it seemed to
cramp their style. COOL.
My daughter drove up and
we drove to West Sac for lunch
and to chase the parade.
We got back and climbed atop
the camper just as Arnold
started to speak. We had
a good view of the whole show,
which included the media trucks
and the street activity on "N" St.
I was glad my daughter
got an opportunity to have
a good, close-up, birds-eye view
of an emotional demonstration.
It was pretty intense, but
we vastly outnumbered them
and my camper was a bit
of a rallying point,
like a flag, for pro-Arnold
forces. A couple of teens
joined us and stood
on the hood of the pickup.
We had the anti-recall
people surrounded. So I was
pleased that I got their early
and parked there to loom large
over their gathering spot.
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