Headquarters For Change

My daughter works for the Democratic Party. For the past 3 months the focus has been on voter registration. Now that that's over, it's all about getting the vote.



So, she asked me if I would like to volunteer with her this weekend, setting up a table at the Farmer's Market on Saturday and the Paseo on Sunday. Our job would be to pass out literature, sell t-shirts, stickers, buttons, be there. Get out the Vote. So I said OK! watching her enthusiasm over these last weeks was contagious and I was anxious to be a part of the Obama Campaign.









The first thing I saw when we arrived at the headquarters was this sign, taped to a car parked outside. It's funny right? Even if you are a supporter of the other party, it's still funny. I thought so.





Here we are, The Headquarters For Change. This is in downtown Santa Barbara. Here is where a lot of dedicated volunteers come to be involved. Here is where we will pick up the boxes to take to Farmers Market.


There are several tables set up with phones, with volunteers manning each and everyone. I didn't feel right about taking pictures of people I didn't know working, so here are some of the other things I saw...
Many different styles of buttons, it was hard for me to pick a favorite. I think the one that most people wanted was the HOPE one, there weren't any of those left.

Shirts and sweatshirts and tote bags, lunch bags, kids clothes, even clothes for baby...

Mr. Obama and my daughter.

Here is where my daughter checks in for instructions. She tells me this place can get really busy, all the phones going off at once, people running around...it's a big room behind me, you'll just have to imagine it.

getting the boxes ready to go....

At the Farmers Market with Mila, waiting for tables to set everything up on.

Nick and Kimberly and one of her favorite bumper sticker, Republicans For Obama!

I wished I could have taken more photos but we got busy and my camera never came out again. I didn't take even one today.

This weekend showed me some of the best and the worst in people. We were thanked and then yelled at. Many, many people told us "Thank you for what you are doing" Some would yell "McCain!!" and then this "Fuck Obama". And even though this was all donation for the campaign one man even stole a shirt. My daughter saw him and ran through the crowds after him. (of course this is NEVER a good idea, you can't be sure what people will do)it just shocked her I'm sure. When she came back with the shirt she told me she said to him " If you had just told me you didn't have the money, I would have given it to you" and you know what? he apologized. We had several tourists from Japan, England and Germany (hi Angela and Anja!) and they all bought t-shirts to bring back home. We had several young people that said they wished they could vote. There were the 6 or 7 college students that were low on cash but really wanted posters to hang in their dorm. We gave some to them. The most interesting thing to me was the fact that we were set up today in a highly visible place without a permit. The Banana Republic store nearby had given previous permission to put up a table by their place, but it was in the shade and we were cold so we thought we would just take a chance. My daughter said it depends on who the Security Guards are voting for. And she was right. We spent most of today camped out with alot of stuff and all we got from the guards was a wink and a smile!

Oh, and we made several hundred dollars for the campaign!

There are now just 9 days left.

p.s. No doodles this weekend, they were off to the Sierra Nevada's near Yosemite for the annual Tarantula Festival. With the other g-parents.

yep, I said Tarantula Festival. It's the only time I'm glad the kids(and tarantulas) are 287 miles away.

xx lori