COFFEE AND ADRENALINE

Normally, I pride myself on being fairly carefully researched and organized in these columns. (It may not appear so, but at least I usually try.) T’aint so at all in this column, and what you’re getting is pretty much stream of (un)consciousness.

I was honored a month ago to be selected by Floridians from all over the state to be elected as a delegate at large to the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, and I’m typing (hunt and peck) now in my hotel room at 10:30 AM. I went to bed at 2:00 AM after listening to Al Gore, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and being absolutely blown away with pride, with tears, with a genuine belief that America, the world may yet go forward to fulfill its destined goodness. Five hours later, I got up to attend the Florida delegation breakfast meeting where I got to listen to magnificently thoughtful presentations by Jesse Jackson, Alec Baldwin, Richard Dreyfus, and the best speech that I ever heard Delaware’s US Senator Joe Biden ever deliver.

You’ve heard about weeks from hell, well, thus far, this has been a week from sheer heaven. It started last Friday with a 2-day visit with my niece Linda Strom (an MSW psychotherapist) and her partner of 27 years, Linda Burke ( a scientific writer). They’ve lived in Cambridge for 7 years and I’ve never visited them at their new home. They not only hostessed me superbly, they ever cancelled some of their regular hockey refereeing. On Friday, I toured Cambridge, Harvard Square, the Kennedy School, the Charles Hotel (where I left desk messages for hotel guests Madeline Albright and Hillary and Bill, of whom the desk clerk had never heard). I even saw that old reprobate Bob Kunst selling his $2 “no more bushit” bumper stickers at Harvard Square where he proceeded to berate me and all Democrats, noting that on a budget of only $17,000 he had gotten 42,000 votes in the 2002 Florida gubernatorial race. (He didn’t bother to mention, of course, that there’d been a total of more than 5 million votes cast and his total was less then 1%.)

On Saturday, niece Linda took me on a 1 ½ ferry ride over to Provincetown (where I’d also never been). The boat ride with several seasick passengers, the gray skies, the 60 some degree temperatures, may have influenced me to an extent, but I thought the town is relatively tacky and pales in comparison to Key West, the Keys and South Beach. I’m glad, however, that I went and saw it.

On Sunday, I moved to the Marriott Copley Hotel to be with the Florida delegation and my dear friends and fellow (fellowess?) delegates Jimmy Weekley, Henry Woods, Gail Lima and Pam Martin. In early afternoon, the week from heaven began with an AFSCME gathering attended by Florida’s Jeanette Wynn, Jon Ausman, and old friends (and clients) from years past in Michigan. Distinguished guests there included the aforesaid Jesse Jackson, but also Nancy Pelosi and Eleanor Holmes Norton. From there, it was with the Florida delegation to a magnificent reception at Northeastern University. From that moment on, host Boston volunteers from teen agers to senior citizens, all smiling, gracious and helpful, guided us along the way. The University president, the catering company were spectacular, and I got to chat with Michael Dukakis and his wife and discuss his great 1988 campaign theme song, which I called Neil Diamond’s “America” but which he kindly corrected me as being “Coming to America”.

Monday morning’s delegation breakfast was addressed by my newest idol Howard Dean and I also got to chat and shake hands with another speaker Ben Affleck with whom I mentioned that his buddy’s Matt Damon’s most recent film had grossed $54 million over the week-end. That afternoon, I attended various caucuses: the Veteran’s caucus; the GLBT caucus; the Women’s caucus; the Disability caucus; all great and inspiring and including speakers like Gloria Steinem, Senator Barbara Boxer, gay diplomats and party officials.

For the evening, it was the opening of the Convention. I got to chat with dearest friend Janet Reno. What struck me most about the Convention were a couple of things. Obviously, Al Gore’s and Bill Clinton’s speeches were out of this world in their reasoned magnificence. The first indelible impression was our Convention’s remarkable, inclusive, genuine diversity. Hispanic New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson chairs the Convention. Lesbian Wisconsin congresswoman Tammy Baldwin delivered a prime-time speech on health care. On Tuesday night, 42-year old African-American Harvard graduate and Illinois senatorial candidate Barack Obama was our keynote speaker. 9 female Democratic US Senators were introduced, soon to be joined perhaps by a 10th from Florida. The second indelible impression was the speech of Nobel peace prize winning, 85-year old Jimmy Carter. This incredibly kindly man let all of GWB’s weaknesses hang out there as they so seriously endanger our world as we know it. President Carter has never been an attack dog; he’s a southern gentleman who builds Habitats for Humanity and monitors democracy in impoverished nations. If this Sunday School teacher feels the need to attack, isn’t it just possible that truth rests in those words? Thanks for publishing and/or reading this too long column that reflects only a piece of my coffee and adrenaline induced stream of consciousness.