8.29.2008

Exclusive Democratic Convention Coverage By Frances Barbour

There was a mile long line to get into Mile HIgh Stadium, where Barack Obama was speaking.  
Luckily, since my mom was a delegate, we were able to take a shuttle bus.  I went to sleep at 2 am the night before so I took a 15 minute nap on the bus.  When we got there, we saw my mom’s friend’s husband from Kenya.  He had a Hall Pass and I had a Floor Pass.  The Floor Pass is  better than the Hall Pass because it lets you get closer.  Since he wanted to sit on the floor, we switched passes.  They let me in anyway because I was with my mom, even though all I had was his Hall Pass. 
It was very crowded on the floor and we really couldn’t see the speaker except for on the big screens above.  It smelled like popcorn and peanuts.  There were about 20 speakers before Barack Obama.  Martin Luther King III, Martin Luther King’s daughter, Sheryl Crow, and Al Gore all spoke.  
Surprisingly, we saw the actress Ann Hathaway from Get Smart and The Princess Diaries in the audience.  We took a lot of photos of her.  I took a picture of a dude who looked like Bob Marley, too. 
Probably after 15 speakers spoke, I was getting hungry.  My mom went to go get me a pretzel.  My mom was gone for about 45 minutes and I was sitting with some of her  friends in the delegation.  I thought it was taking her so long because of the crowd. But then a girl came up to me and said they were on a “lock down.” 
That means only so many people could be in the stadium because if a fire happened, it would be dangerous.  My mom had sent the girl to telll me she would be back.  I wasn’t really worried.  But my mom was because, as it turned out, she was locked out by the Secret Service.  She came back and I could tell she had been crying. 
(Mom’s Note: I was scared because the Secret Service were serious about the lock down and I wasn’t confident Frances and I would get back together because the Secret Service were not letting anyone in, including Andrea Mitchell, members of Congress and governors…..they did finally let me in because of my daughter). 
(Editor’s Note: Playing the daughter card get’s ’em every time)
After my mom got back, she told me that the Secret Service were pushing people and shouting to “Get back, get back.” 
Then Barack Obama came on.  I thought his speech was very, very, very good.  One of my favorite parts was when he said that he’s going to make the cars that don’t run on gasoline here in America. I liked his speech because I thought he was very confident but it did get loud sometimes because people were cheering and cheering.  
My absolute favorite part was when the fireworks came bursting out of the stadium and then Barack Obama’s family came out.  Obama’s children are about the same age as me and my sister, Annemarie. His children are 7 and 10. 
After the convention, my voice was hurt because of my screaming and cheering.  Also, I was hoping I would see Ann Hathaway and get her autograph.  We couldn’t find a bus and my mom tried to ask someone and he started yelling at us.  When we finally got on a bus, it took about two hours to get to our hotel, which was only about two miles away. 
By the way, my pedometer says 43,147 steps. 
Ta ta for now
This has been fun and we’re leaving in a few hours, 
Bye Bye 
Frances
(Editor’s Note: Thank you Frances for sharing your convention with us here at California’s Capitol. You’ve seen all the comments on your posts so you know how much people enjoyed reading about your experiences in Denver. If you need help cleaning your room when you get back, just call. Also, when your voice hurts the best cure is tons and tons of ice cream. xoxox)

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