We’ve all been involved in some grassroots effort and we know how it works: it’s a matter of vision, goals, organization and sheer grit. You’re fighting some form of City Hall, usually, and the only way to fight an institution that has all the power you lack is — every which way you can think of! That means demonstrations, door to door work, phone calls, flyering, rallies, letters to the editor, blog entries, media attention if you can get it. It means getting the truth out past the machine that is trying to shut you down. It requires ingenuity and relentless determination. Lots of the time you have to lose and get right back up again and keep going ’til you finally get to victory.

I knew John Kerry had done all those things when he was a young veteran, just returned from Vietnam, first working to make a safe, healthy environment, helping to organize the very first Earth Day in 1970, and then speaking out on college campuses and on the Dick Cavett Show and in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, speaking out to defend his brothers in arms, those still dying overseas, and those who had returned home scarred in body, mind and spirit. He was an organizer and an activist in those movements, and a highly effective one whose success worried the Nixon White House into a personal attack campaign against him.

Since that day in November 2004 when he bravely conceded a narrow defeat in his fight for the presidency and I watched him get back up and start working again toward his goals for Massachusetts and the nation, I’ve been realizing that everything he does is still in that grassroots activist mold. He is still fighting City Hall to get the truth out to the American people and he still uses every means open to him. That means filibustering Alito and being one of the earliest and strongest voices to tell us the smart way to be successful in Iraq and Afghanistan without continuing to put our brave troops’ lives in harm’s way. That means speeches on the Senate floor, but also blogging and the print and broadcast media and internet outreach through e-mail and his online PAC blog and website and offshoot sites like the Roadblock Republicans.

It means an incredible record of legislative achievement (dearly won in the last eight years of Republican partisanship.) It means tireless campaigning all over the country, first in 2003-4, then in 2006 when he stumped for so many Democratic Congressional candidates, throwing himself more than any other politician into the successful effort to win back the majority. It means op-eds and Letters to the Editor, which he regularly writes, it means taking to blogging and bloggers like a natural (go here for a telling exchange with a Daily Kos commenter who couldn’t imagine a grassroots Senator but was convinced!) It means endorsing a candidate like Obama when he’d just lost New Hampshire, and then backing that endorsement up with the same kind of all-out commitment and endurance he showed in his presidential campaign and his fight in 2006 to win back the Congress. This time, what’s at stake is the White House, an essential element in the Democratic fight to put our country back on course, and he’s showing his activist roots again: defeat doesn’t mean you’ve lost: go for victory another way.

This is the John Kerry we heard in our blogger call last night. He was in the Senate, waiting for an evening vote and despite having just come off an impossibly grueling schedule (Afghanistan Friday at the end of a four-country week, Texas stumping for Obama Saturday, back to Boston and events here Sunday, and then to D.C. Monday,) he sounded alert and cordial.

We asked him about his Senate campaign and he talked about how he’s been crisscrossing the state, talking to mayors and business people and citizens in every community. The common issues start with an economy that’s in deep trouble after the subprime mortgage crisis — that extends to every aspect of Massachusetts families’ lives — from healthcare costs to housing to winter fuel expenses and food bills. As always, he’s deeply involved in working for veterans’ needs and equal opportunity for the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our economy. After enumerating some of the challenges we face, he talked about the vision he shared with the country in 2004, many aspects of which we’re seeing in the platforms of our current candidates, from energy independence and green jobs to healthcare solutions to tuition in exchange for community service to a foreign and trade policy that thinks globally but always puts American interests in the foreground. Those ideas are part of his legacy as a candidate and he’s happy to see them in the current race. His other legacy is the grassroots spirit and inspiration of young voters that was his other strength in 2004. We’re seeing that in the Obama campaign and very much in Senator Kerry’s own involvement and this time we’re lucky enough to have a Howard Dean DNC with a 50 State Strategy grassroots strategy that backs that up instead of a Terry McAuliffe DNC that was the antithesis of the grassroots.

Kerry was in a playful and optimistic mood during the call. At one point he excused himself saying “Senator Rockefeller is harrassing me!” We heard him thanking the Senator and he came back to explain that Rockefeller had seen his C-SPAN appearance over the weekend stumping for Obama in Galveston, Texas, and wanted to compliment him on his town hall speech and Q&A session with voters.

We asked him about the end of the week “adventure” in Afghanistan where he and Senators Biden and Hagel were stuck for several hours in the snow on a mountaintop waiting for weather conditions to improve so they could fly on to their destination. Downplaying a potentially very dangerous situation, he joked again that the three Senators were contemplating going outside and using their Senatorial skills to “talk” the Taliban into submission and praised the military personnel who protected them during their “unplanned stopover,” including a helicopter which hovered over them making lots of noise to “rattle the bad guys.”

The Senator clearly loves the grassroots and the netroots — they are part of his blood and his whole approach to political work. He is planning regular blogger calls and I look forward to fruitful discussions with him on the issues facing Massachusetts and the country.

Senator Kerry said he is taking nothing for granted in this Senate race and there is plenty for volunteers and activists to do. The signature drive is in about to go into full swing and there will be lots of events coming up soon. If you live in Massachusetts and you want to get involved, you can contact the John Kerry for Senate campaign office here and they’ll be happy to sign you up. It’s going to be an exciting year for activists. That means Senator Kerry. That means all of us!

HONORING EXCELLENCE, by mbk

Near the end of July, my son and I saw the delightful new film, “Ratatouille.” But that is not my story. My story is about my mental journey from “Ratatouille” to John Kerry and the troubled state of our democracy. With fresh memories of our afternoon at the movies, I read David Denby’s review of “Ratatouille” in the July 23, 2007 issue of The New Yorker with special attention.

Discussing Brad Bird, the creator of both “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille”, Denby concluded:
At a time when many Americans have so misunderstood the ethos of democracy that they hate being outclassed by anyone, when science is disdained as dangerous and expertise as elitism, this animation artist has made two brilliant movies that unequivocally champion excellence.

I thought: BINGO. In one sentence, Denby captured the core of what’s gone wrong with our democracy today: the tragic outcomes (or “outcomes”, as I view those outcomes as fraudulent) of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, and the tragically misbegotten administration of George W. Bush that came to us as our booby prize; the astonishing irresponsibly shallow political reporting (or “reporting”) of the mainstream media, especially from 2000 onwards; and the substitution of yelling, game-playing, buck-passing, and finger-pointing for intelligent, thoughtful political discourse in our society generally. I thought: Denby nailed us.

Denby’s sentence also offers for me a resolution to a paradox that causes me daily frustration, bafflement, and pain. In 2004, we had right under our noses, the best (that is , the most thoughtful, most deeply and broadly qualified, full of ideas to save the environment and extricate us from Iraq, a war hero and patriot who, for decades, has regularly put his country’s interests ahead of his own, a man of sterling character) presidential candidate I’ve seen in my adult life, the best, in fact, I’m likely ever to see. But instead we elected (or “elected”), for a second time, even after experiencing four years of his incompetence and dishonesty, the worst president (or “president”) in United States history. WHY? OK, in my opinion, John Kerry actually won, the election was stolen from him, and someday we’ll learn all the ways the votes were stolen. But the vote was still close. My question: how could the vote even have been close? How could anyone except the most incurably right-wing segment of the electorate not vote for John Kerry?

Since 2004, John Kerry has continued to fight for our country, stronger and bolder and more courageous than ever. He is a model of integrity, deeply patriotic, a man of conscience and action, everything that a politician should be. He has a sense of humor, and intelligence, and a wonderful, accomplished family that loves him, to boot. And he has not only his Band of Brothers, but a band of fiercely loyal political supporters from 2004 and beyond. And he has thoroughly earned that support. He is a man who doesn’t just talk the talk: he walks the walk. Isn’t this the kind of man we say we want? And yet there are members of the press, closed-minded bloggers of the right and left, and self-interested members of his own party who continue to describe John Kerry with petty carping, and with outright lies*.

My question is: Why do these people refuse to see this man? Why do they seem so threatened by this man? What is wrong out there?

Well, Denby again has the answer: as a country we have become afraid to appreciate, and perhaps have forgotten even how to recognize, excellence. How long has it been since I’ve heard that word in connection with American politics? Decades.

Here’s the thing: John Kerry is an excellent man and an excellent senator, and he would have been an absolutely first-rate president. He is absolutely serious about taking our country back, to get us out of Iraq, to move us forward on the environment. He is thoughtful, compassionate, and he has grit and guts.

As of now, it looks like we can’t have him as president. But if we can’t have him as president, we need at least to recognize the excellence of this man, and our good fortune that he continues to fight for our country, in the Senate and elsewhere.

Various people have speculated about how future historians will view the presidency of George W. Bush. Personally, I think the answer is a no-brainer. But I believe that the real questions of this presidency, and the ones likely to puzzle those historians as much as they have me, are these: how could the American people have let this happen to their country, to our country? Why did they elect (or “elect”) this man twice, or even tolerate him for 5 minutes, especially with two deeply qualified alternatives? Why did the press aid and abet the Bush administration for so long, and why does it continue to kow-tow to the rich, the established, and the powerful?

This is what I think: no matter who our next president will be, our country remains in danger if our citizens and our press cannot see, or refuse to see, excellence, integrity, and real leadership when it’s right there in front of them. Want to see excellence and integrity in action? Want to see real leadership? See this man. See this leader. Be grateful that Sen. Kerry is still out there, fighting for us and for our country.

If you doubt my words, or would like to know more, check out the stories here, the videos, audiotapes, speech transcripts, and blog posts at johnkerry.com, and kerry.senate.gov, and at several other non-official web sites (http://www.kerryvision.net, among others) focused on Sen. Kerry’s commitment to returning our country to its highest self.

I hope that readers and bloggers will offer here their own favorite stories and quotes, among Sen. Kerry’s speeches, initiatives and his many good deeds. But for starters, I recommend a few favorites of mine: (a) at http://www.johnkerry.com/multimedia/video, see Sen. Kerry’s highly personal Oct. 29, 2006 speech, on his cancer (around 10 minutes in), and that of his father (around 8 or 9 minutes in) and his former wife, linking his personal experiences to larger issues of health care, family values, and social responsibility. (b) At the non-official “KerryVision” blog, see the commentary and YouTube video at http://www.kerryvision.net/2007/08/jk_the_fire_fighters.html, on Sen. Kerry’s help to firefighters and their families after the disastrous 1999 Worcester, MA fire.

In the Massachusetts tourist town where I work for much of the summer, I was startled to realize one early August afternoon the number of cars who still have “Kerry for president” and “Kerry/Edwards” stickers on their cars. My count of parked cars on my 1-block Friday afternoon stroll : John Kerry stickers (3: 2 from MA, 1 from Connecticut); Kerry/Edwards (4: 3 from MA, 1 from North Carolina). Some of these were a little faded, but none had been damaged. In all but one case, the Kerry or Kerry/Edwards sticker was the only bumper sticker on the car, and they clearly were quite deliberately preserved. I saw no stickers that afternoon for 08 candidates, no stickers for Bush. So here’s my question: did stickers persist this long after earlier elections? Do those persistent stickers mean that at least some people out there know exactly what we lost? I hope the answer is yes.

A week or so later, I passed a man in a Kerry/Edwards shirt, walking his dog, on a residential street in the same summer town. We nodded at each other, in mutual understanding.

mbk

(*For latest example, consider cyberspace blather on the “taser incident”. Factual antidotes to internet misinformation are available at http://www.johnkerry.com/2007/9/19/update-and-info-on-the-uf-incident and http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/18/student.tasered/)

• finding a diplomatic and political solution in Iraq so that we can begin to bring our troops home safely while still pursuing an outcome of peace and stability in the region
• taking a realistic approach to the global threat of terrorism (listen to the teleconference at the link for JK’s remarks)
• mounting a spirited campaign to preserve American children’s access to health care (I noticed that President Bush was unwilling to set benchmarks for Iraqi politicians but QUITE happy to set benchmarks for SCHIP which would mean that children would have to be uninsured for a whole year of their young lives…)
• real action on climate change (support for the UN conference of world leaders this last week and a pointed challenge to the President to truly lead on this issue, which he ultimately failed to do…again) Again, audio at the first link.
• leadership on making the internet accessible and affordable for all Americans, not just those who can afford it, especially small businesses who need access in order to compete and keep our economy diverse, creative and vital

September was also the month in which another phony attack (see the Swift Boat Liars, see the “botched joke”) was mounted against Senator Kerry when a student at a University of Florida town hall meeting where he was the featured speaker was tasered by university police.

This incident, in which JK behaved with courtesy and respect to a young man bent on disrupting the event, was inflated by just about everyone on the Far Right (Matt Drudge in the forefront of the troublemaking, as he so often is) and Far Left, all with individual agendas which had a lot to do with their own self-promotion and nothing at all to do with John Kerry’s actual speech or thoughtful discussion with the students present, which should have been the real story.

I left this comment at the johnkerry.com blog in response to the trumped-up outrage in some of the comments there:

Here’s the bottom line: You can rage, you can smear, you can jump up and down and scream. And you know what John Kerry will do? He’ll keep doing his job. This afternoon he was on a conference call about the upcoming UN conference on climate change next week, today he gave an amazing, comprehensive speech on the Senate floor about the way to pursue a diplomatic course for success in Iraq where years of death and military occupation have failed. He is fighting for the planet, he is fighting for small businesses, he is fighting for the lives of our troops. He’s fighting for you and me, my friends. No matter how people try to vilify or stop him, he will keep on getting up every morning and doing the work he believes in. Instead of getting in his way, why not try listening to him and helping him take this country back!

And that’s really it. John Kerry does his job. He tells the truth and he tells it straight and sometimes those who are threatened by the truth attack him, either out of fear or a lack of understanding. But the Senator does not falter. His priority is service to his country, to the people of this nation and this world, and to the planet itself. He’s tough, he can take the nonsensical, exaggerated abuse. And he will keep doing his job.

If you’re in the Boston area this Monday, come see him do his job in a speech at Faneuil Hall at noon! I’ll be there and I can’t wait to hear JK’s thoughts on “a new progressive America, with a new prosperity for the 21st Century.”

The Little House, Part 3: The Prayers From the Porch Swing
Rediscovering My Faith as a Call to Service

by Jessica Szabo

The first time I put on a Kerry campaign shirt, I reached into my jewelry box on a whim and grabbed a tiny gold necklace I’d been given years before, a pendant with Mary, the mother of Jesus, engraved in the center. The necklace was a high school graduation gift from my father. I wore it for a time when he gave it to me, but it had been hanging on a hook in my jewelry box since college, a time when I made several attempts to completely re-invent myself into something I never even wanted to be in an effort to fit in with one of the little cliques at the small school I attended.

At thirty-two I know I would have made more genuine friends if I had just been myself, but at nineteen and twenty I was lonely and a bit naïve. I never did anything truly dangerous, just plenty of silly things I would have been better off not doing. I’d spend all the extra money I had on some ugly shiny velour shirt and CDs I didn’t even enjoy listening to just because my friends were into the gothic subculture, or I’d let my grades suffer just because everyone else wanted to play a role playing game and wanted me to watch them or go with them when they went shopping for more materials. The only time I paid attention to spirituality or religion was when my friends got interested in it, then I’d delve into whatever books they were passing around.

In my four years of college I wrote one paper on Catholicism and attended Mass one time with a devout Catholic friend who graduated the year I started and moved away. In graduate school most of the people I studied with were very rigid in their anti-religion beliefs, and there was an unwritten rule that you did not disagree with the group if you wished to obtain your degree. The two times I thought they were going to run me off campus were when I voiced support for the decision to use military action in Afghanistan, and when they found out I was baptized and raised Catholic. By then I had matured enough not to unquestioningly go along with everything everyone around me said, but I lacked the confidence to speak up for myself.

A few months after graduation, I became involved with the Kerry campaign.
As I learned more about the Senator’s life and work, I slowly began to realize that the faith that sustained him was the same type of faith that my grandmother taught me on the porch of the row house overlooking the little house; a deep, personal faith that taught that we are here to serve others, not just pursue our own interests. My earliest religious memories are of watching grandma’s mother’s ring glint in the sun as her hands moved in prayer, and learning the power of patience and compassion by example as she attempted to teach a curious four-year old to recite the rosary. And so it was on that day that I put on my first Kerry campaign T-shirt, and added the necklace that had come to symbolize the faith I had pushed aside, that I took a quiet moment, as my grandma had taught me so many years before, and prayed for my safety campaigning in a very unfriendly area, and for Senator Kerry, and for our country.

I have prayed every day since, and when I realized I would be purchasing and remodeling the little house for myself to move into, I decided I would begin attending Mass as a fully practicing Catholic when I returned home. I enrolled in RCIA (Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults) classes and began to read Christian and Catholic web sites. I searched for more information about the Catholic religion, and a parish to join in my home area. In the meantime I began attending Mass at the church nearest to me and chose a service organization to do volunteer work. I will make green remodeling the little house the first step in a lifestyle that makes me a part of the solution to all of the environmental problems our country and our world are facing.

I’m still working on determining how my professional life is going to serve others. For now, I pray the mental health articles I write for the local paper inspire those who need it to seek treatment. I pray the articles I write on the environment encourage someone to switch light bulbs or turn off a light. I pray the soldiers and veterans whose families I write about read the articles and know their loved ones are thinking of them and those who serve with them.

I still reach for the little gold necklace when I need to be reminded to make that extra effort to do at least one thing that day that will serve the greater good, instead of simply doing whatever would be easiest for me at that moment. I also wear it when I need to remember that I am on a path that will lead me home. Recently, I learned that the little pendant represents Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, the patron saint of the state of Pennsylvania.

Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?

They want to me to quit; they say
John, give up the fight
Still to England I say
Good night, forever, good night!
For I have crossed the Rubicon
Let the bridge be burned behind me
Come what may, come what may

Commitment!

Listening to William Daniels’ stirring performance of John Adams’ song from the Sherman Edwards musical 1776 in this clip, you can hear the fireworks and clanging bells of freedom in the music. He’s singing to an empty chamber, but soon and forever, his vision of independence from tyranny will be heard by millions.

Those of us who have scanned the airwaves for any and every appearance by John Kerry over the last few years (even during the election, you had to keep a weather eye on the
C-SPAN schedule to catch a glimpse of all his tireless campaigning, all but invisible in the mainstream broadcast media) have heard him give countless speeches and interviews that equal the passion and prescience of that song, the determination that spurred Boston’s Sons of Liberty and did so much to create this extraordinary democratic experiment we call America. But for much of the country, there has been no way to hear or see John Kerry’s vision.

Through all the gloom, through all the gloom
I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory!

What we’ve been waiting for is here at last. Now there is a place dedicated to guaranteeing the right of Americans to access the work John Kerry is doing to lead our country forward.

I see fireworks! I see the pageant and
pomp and parade
I hear the bells ringing out
I hear the cannons roar
I see Americans - all Americans
Free forevermore

That place is called KerryVision and there you will find video documenting the Senator’s busy life and work. There’s a newsreel that will show you the highlights of his week, a blog for interactive viewer discussion, a link to the KerryVision YouTube Channel, and it looks like there’s lots more to come!

Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?

They do, and they will. Go, watch, enjoy. And Happy Independence Day!

Update: Thanks to the KerryVision Team for reposting this at their site and for the gorgeous, perfect photo they found to go with it!

First, in honor of Independence Day (and you have to admit Iowans are known for being independent-minded!), newgeneration offers us this memory:

“Thank You, Iowa”

I wanted to make sure the first vote I cast in the Iowa caucus was a smart one, so when I started college in the fall of 2003, I went to see every presidential candidate I could. As the candidates continued to clarify their positions, I switched allegiances more times than I can count. By about four days before the caucuses, I finally had it narrowed down to two; the final deciding factor in Kerry’s favor was that his standing in the polls had suddenly taken a significant upswing, while the numbers for my other favorite candidate, Dick Gephardt, were slowly but steadily dropping. So, on caucus day, I squeezed into the IMU Ballroom with a few hundred other college students and stood in the preference group for John Kerry, feeling sure I was helping save the world by sending my man forward to New Hampshire with a strong showing.

When it became increasingly obvious that he was going to be the nominee, I decided to use the six months or so until the convention to learn more about him, since I’d already made up my mind to work for whoever would become the nominee. I thought I had a pretty solid grasp on his platform already, having already scoured it for anything that would help me make up my mind in January. I didn’t know much about the man, though, beyond the basic information about his military record that had been mentioned in his commercials (Vietnam, three Purple Hearts, and the rest), so I looked forward to reading the new book about his military service that had come out just before the caucuses. If nothing else, I thought, it would at least be an interesting read, since I was (and still am) an avid watcher of “Mail Call.”

Nothing could have prepared me for Tour of Duty.

By the time I finished it, I was amazed that I’d guessed correctly. Although my caucus vote for John Kerry was based on little more than a basic comfort with his issue positions and his likelihood of winning the nomination, I became a very proud, vocal supporter. John Kerry was my candidate, and the more I learned about him, the more impressed I was. He started out for me as nothing more than an educated guess, but in learning about him, I came to realize that he was truly a rare occurrence — that men like him don’t come along every day. Though I knew I could never live up to his example, I desperately wanted to. And beyond that, I was more convinced than ever that my country deserved a chance to restore its good name. It needed him as president — so did I.

Flash forward to December 10, 2004 — I had just spent the bulk of the fall semester balancing a full course load with working every available hour at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Clinton Street office, convinced it would all be worth it in November. I bummed a ride to the “Thank You, Iowa” event the IDP was holding, hoping that watching John Kerry thank us all for our hard work in person would make me feel less guilty about taking a week off during midterms. His speech, I thought, was just what we needed; in essence, acknowledging how we’d all worked our fingers to the bone on his behalf. But the reception afterward was what really confirmed his worth for me.

I can only imagine how he was feeling at the time — I felt bad enough, and I’d only been a hardcore supporter for a few months. He’d been on the road for two years and looked like he’d spent most of that time not sleeping. I wanted to tell him how much he had inspired me those last few months, how much being part of the campaign had meant to me, how much hope he’d given me that everything would be okay in the end — but I couldn’t find the words. I just gave him a hug instead and opted not to say anything dorky I’d regret later, because I knew I couldn’t really articulate what I wanted to say anyway. I did manage to say “Thank you so much” afterward, to which he responded “Thank you so much” — a stock response, probably, but it made me feel better. God bless him. He’ll never know how much that one hug and simple response meant to me.

Though I might have been able to make the Dean’s List if I hadn’t taken on so much campaign work, I don’t regret a minute of it. I’m glad I had the opportunity to learn from the campaign, and even though it ended in heartbreak, I’d do it again tomorrow if I could.

Thank you, Senator Kerry.

The Little House Part 2: Little Touches of Pittsburgh

The little house 26 miles outside of Pittsburgh sits waiting for its copper pipes, re-claimed fixtures, and tankless water heater in what I can only imagine is a beautiful green Pennsylvania summer. I haven’t been home in a few years because of the cost of travel, and have had to rely on little touches of the Pittsburgh area to get me through: a few pounds of Nicholas coffee, some photos sent by relatives, the Post-Gazette online in the morning, and an official Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel that is such a part of the city, it appears to be upset at being removed from the Pittsburgh area. (Every time I wave it while watching a Steelers game, the other team scores) I even have a few  Pittsburgh themed T-shirts to wear with my jeans on the afternoons when all I have to do is run a few errands.

My favorite bit of Pittsburgh away from Pittsburgh happened on April 5th when I took a few days vacation from the cleaning and office job I work to pay for the improvements on the little house to travel to San Francisco for a This Moment On Earth event. I’d been excited and wanting to attend an event ever since the book tour was announced, and the interview and question and answer session were more than worth the hotel stay and long train trip it took to get there.

Immediately afterward, people began gathering near the stage to shake hands with Senator Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry. I was a few people too far back in the line that formed in front of the Senator and missed my chance to meet him, but I did manage to walk up to Teresa.

I have deeply admired Teresa Heinz Kerry ever since I first learned about her philanthropic work and watched and read interviews with her during the 2004 campaign. I went around telling my relatives and anyone else who would listen, “She’s going to be the best First Lady, and she was naturalized in Pittsburgh. We’re going to have a First Lady from our home area.”

I never expected her to be anything other than intelligent, thoughtful, gracious, and kind. Now me, that’s a different story. I could feel the stupid things to say filling my head as I stood there.

Thankfully, none of those made it to my mouth. Instead, I walked up to her, and said, “You make me proud to be from the Pittsburgh area.”

In return, I received the warmest smile and the friendliest handshake I have ever had, followed by her leaning toward me and saying “youns.” “Youns” is a unique Pittsburgh word. We use it the way people from the south use “y’all” and everyone else says “you guys” or “you all.” I laughed and nodded in understanding,  while people waiting next to me just looked confused. At that moment, all the way on the other side of the country, I felt like I was back home.

As I walked away, she called, “Where, where?” after me. The Pittsburgh metropolitan area consists of the city itself and numerous smaller townships and boroughs in Allegheny and Washington counties. With some of the smaller ones, people who have lived there all their lives have to ask exactly where some place is in relation to the city of Pittsburgh itself,  but a large number of them end in “burg.”  I turned around and said “Cokeburg,” and she said “okay!” and smiled and waved as I drifted into the crowd of people headed for the front lobby.

I didn’t realize there was a book signing after the event, so instead of waiting around for people to line up and getting to talk to Teresa again and meet Senator Kerry, I trotted right out to the street where I caught a cab back to the hotel and called people to wake them up and tell them I’d just met Teresa Heinz Kerry.

The next morning I had to catch a train back to the place where I am currently living. To avoid going into a lot of personal details, I’ll just say that it isn’t the right place for me to be, and my return that day was especially sad because the following Saturday I was to experience the Catholic sacrament of Confirmation there instead of in a church back home in the Pittsburgh area as I had hoped. I went ahead with the sacrament, but I managed to bring two little touches of Pittsburgh with me. The outfit I chose for Confirmation included a small clutch bag containing two items: a rosary that had belonged to the grandmother who owned and lived in the little house, and my ticket stub from the San Francisco event that felt like a trip back home.

One of my favorite aspects of having learned more about John Kerry and his life and career is the enormous variety of people who have been inspired by him.  I would love to see stories from and about your families, friends, and kids and their adventures in the Kerryverse, too.  

For our first compilation, we have two wonderful stories.

Diane tells us about a chance meeting with the Senator:

I feel like I’ve told this story a million times, but it’s my favorite one.

Years ago - I’d say it must have been in about the late ’80’s - my family and I were strolling around Beacon Hill on a beautiful fall Sunday. We were walking down Beacon Street right near the Bull & Finch Pub, when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a tall man passing who seemed familiar. I did a double take as I realized it was Senator Kerry. At the same time he looked around and smiled at me and said hi. I said hi and smiled back, and that was it. He came across as a little shy, but very friendly.

That tiny incident had a disproportionate effect on me. It taught me that all the garbage I’d read about him in the Globe and Herald was - well - garbage. It taught me not to believe everything I read in the papers. I knew that the kind of person I wanted representing me in the Senate was a man who would walk around and take the time to notice and interact with people on the street, one on one. The meetings I’ve had with him since have only reinforced that initial impression.

and Jessica has sent us this beautiful account of how work on the 2004 campaign and JK and THK’s environmental philosophy had a very tangible effect on her life:

The Little House by Jessica Szabo

The little house 26 miles outside of Pittsburgh was built as the garage to a row house, became a one bedroom home that housed my mother, her sister, and her parents, and years later, my parents and me. The house has been rented out, used for storage, and left empty for fifteen years. Anyone else probably would have torn it down, but that  tiny house and the row house in front of  it contain all of my earliest memories, from first prayers to scraped knees to learning to read. I received my first lesson in energy conservation on the porch of the row house. “Get in here and close that door,” my grandparents would tell me. “You’re letting all the heat out.” 

They didn’t know about global warming back then, but they did know neither my parents nor my grandparents could afford larger utility bills simply because I wanted to talk to someone in the kitchen without taking my eye off the lightening bugs glinting in the grass.

A variety of circumstances would take me away from the little house for many years, but I’ve always dreamed of moving back home to the Pittsburgh area. By age thirty,  I had decided to save up for an apartment in the city, but when my grandfather passed away in 2005, I began the process of buying and remodeling the little house. I had learned a little about environmental issues from following current events and reading assigned texts in college and graduate school, but as a student I had a tendency to examine issues or analyze situations on an academic level, then stop. I was never determined to put knowledge  into action beyond gaining academic credit until I learned about and eventually volunteered for the 2004 Kerry campaign. Inspired by Senator Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry, I began freelance writing news articles on various health and environmental topics, volunteered for Senate candidates in 2006, made some changes in my purchasing habits and daily routine, and started exploring the possibility of a career change from writing to social services, law, or politics. Green remodeling the little house  isn’t the first time I’ve taken something I became aware of during the campaign and put myself to work on it, but it is the biggest project I’ve ever undertaken.

I began by determining what could be saved. I had to move in with my parents after college, and the only steady work I have been able to find are two part-time positions doing office work and cleaning. I could never afford to tear everything apart and re-build it all, even with my parents buying me some of the materials as holiday gifts. I also want to keep waste and pollution to a minimum. I refused suggestions  to change the shape or size of any of the rooms, or to replace the metal cabinets with an entirely new kitchen, when all they need is paint and a new countertop.

I saved most of my income for several months, and hired a contractor to open the walls and replace the wiring, adding strict instructions that anything that could be recycled or donated must be recycled or donated. The first addition to the house was a new energy efficient furnace.

On April 19, 2006 I completed the purchase of the little house and my family decided to replace the roof shingles as my Christmas gift that year. I told them it was  a green remodeling project, to have the contractors save whatever they could and use environmentally friendly materials for the tiles. I didn’t know there were green  building supply stores with web sites I could visit to choose the materials myself, and with three or four people passing messages back and forth between two states, I wound up with the wood underneath the shingles saved, but topped with fiberglass tiles instead of the ones made from recycled material I would have chosen.

My next project was replacing the loose, cracked windows. I purchased sliding Energy Star  windows with screens to allow for natural cooling and ventilation. I only wish This Moment On Earth had been released a couple months earlier.  I had made the mistake of researching only  energy efficiency, waste reduction, and conservation in home remodeling. I was unaware of the toxins in vinyl until I read the book, and thought I would be keeping the house healthy simply by using non-toxic cleaning products once I moved in.  I called the contractor to have the vinyl window frames returned and replaced with wooden frames, but they were already installed.

Angry with myself for not finding the right roof tiles in time, and for my mistake on the windows, I propped This Moment On Earth open next to my computer and studied the web pages in the resource section. I then re-wrote my green remodeling plan, listing the steps I will take for each project. It may be too late for the windows frames, but I will order copper pipes instead of PVC pipes for the plumbing, and a water saving toilet, a tankless water heater, and a low flow showerhead to complete the bathroom. Buying my sink and shower stall (with a glass door instead of a vinyl curtain) from a store in Pittsburgh that offers reclaimed fixtures will save money, prevent the items from winding up in the landfill, and use less gas to transport than having them shipped from outside my area.

After the plumbing, cotton insulation made from recycled denim will be installed, followed by  walls made of emission-free wheat straw board. Energy Star certified light fixtures and compact fluorescent bulbs are available at several local stores. The new inside and outside steps will be built with reclaimed wood. Finally, offsets will be purchased for the trips taken by any materials that need to be shipped from outside the Pittsburgh area.

A central theme in This Moment On Earth is that caring for the planet we live on does not belong to any one subcategory of people. I wish I could hand a copy to the people who made wisecracks about smoking marijuana, etc. when I mentioned looking for green flooring, paint, furniture, or household items. Like the book, I hope my little house helps dispel the stereotype of those who strive for environmental health as fringe elitists who want to live outside the American mainstream. I found linoleum made from natural, renewable materials that resembles the marble floors I’ve always admired but could never afford and countertops made from recycled paper that look like granite. Recycled carpet, VOC free paint, and energy efficient appliances are available in the same styles and colors found in most homes, and although I’ve only found one store that offers full lines of furniture made from recycled plastic and sustainably harvested wood, it has an extensive collection of  traditional pieces. I even found organic cotton versions of the bedding and linens I fell in love with during a recent hotel stay, and the blue glass dishes I want in recycled glass.

Greening a home is a bit  expensive, but I will just have to work a little harder and save a little longer. It’s the least I can do for the little house, my community, my country, and the planet. When I first joined the Kerry 2004 campaign, I knew I would be knocking on a lot of doors.  I had no idea signing up as a Kerry supporter would lead me on a journey that will include two doors of my own, both leading into my home.

That’s the feeling I get every time I see John Kerry with his daughters. Their
lives have not been idealized or airbrushed, but they have triumphed over any
difficulty through love. They tease each other, they laugh together, they are
there in the hard times to support each other. They have a genuine bond, the kind
of connection that it is just not possible to fake and that shows in every smile
or hug.

We see them mostly in public situations, but their love and pride in each other is
plain to see, even in the camera’s glare. These two smart, beautiful, decent women,
Vanessa and Alexandra Kerry, each made heartfelt, affectionate speeches about their dad at the Democratic National Convention, testifying to their love for him as a father as
well as affirming their belief in him as a principled public servant who should be president.

It is clear to any observer that his daughters have been John Kerry’s greatest
pride and joy since the day they were born. Whenever he mentions them, he is, just
for a moment, not the vital, inspired politician; he is any fond, proud father.

I honor John Kerry and the late Julia Thorne Kerry for dedicating themselves to
the happiness of their daughters even as they were navigating the difficult waters
at the end of a marriage and I honor John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry for
blending their two families and being loving parents to his daughters and her
sons.

I also honor John Kerry this Father’s Day for something I feel, though I cannot
know it for sure. It appears to me that he and his daughters have let their
relationships evolve and grow with time. In early photos (thank you, George Butler!) he appears as the strong, protective father supplying playfulness or comfort as needed. As adults, not only do his daughters repay that protectiveness and support with their own loyalty and presence, but I sense that he has allowed himself to learn from their wisdom as they learned from his.

I recognize that quality of openness and respect in my own father as my sister and
I have grown into that role with him and I honor every father who has the humility
and grace to grow into equality with his children as they grow up.

Happy Father’s Day to my dad, Alexandra and Vanessa’s dad, and dads everywhere!

Note: Thanks to Democrafty over at We Love John Kerry for permission to republish my Father’s Day post from last year.  I am so grateful this Father’s Day that my own dad is successfully recovering from cancer surgery and I dedicate this post to him, with much love.  Also, congratulations to Vanessa for graduating from Harvard Medical School last week!  Thanks to Justin Ide at the Harvard News Office for permission to use this beautiful photo.