New Hampshire has a minor league hockey team and a minor league baseball team. Other than that, there are no stadium events that draw crowds here in the Granite State. The one exception is every four years during the presidential election campaigns.  From early in the summer right up to the day of the primary, campaign buses can be viewed on the highways, candidates greet voters in diners, and rallies are held in even the smallest of New Hampshire Towns. Some of my friends remember candidates coming to people’s homes for coffee groups. I wrote about my last primary adventure in 2015 when I got to see Hillary Clinton less than four feet in front of me. This year I put it off till the last minute, but in a way that’s a good thing.  In the week prior to the primary there are dozens of events, and many of them were close to my job or my home.

On Thursday I went to the Elizabeth Warren rally in Derry. Since I work in Derry, I chose not to go home. This put me at the head of the line and I was able to score a spot right at the foot of the stage. Like my Hillary Clinton experience, Elizabeth was right in front of me. The reason I go on about being that position is that when you are in close proximity, you see the candidates as real flesh and blood people. You see the age in their hands, or the fatigue in their eyes.  That may sound weird, but I like to know that people I see on television, read about in the newspapers, or see on the Internet are human beings like me.

On Sunday, Pete Buttigieg was scheduled to have a rally here in Salem at the high school. I signed up and made my way to the venue to be utterly blown away by the size of the line. Needless to say, I didn’t have a front row spot, but rather stood in the back by the press cameras.  There are always lots of reporters at these events trying to gauge the attitude of the voters. One spoke to me for quite awhile about how I felt about Bernie Sanders.  Finally, Pete took the stage as a real live human being. I stayed for his stump speech but left for the questions. I really didn’t want to get stuck in the parking lot traffic.

On my way home, I passed the middle school and noticed a ton of Amy Klobuchar  signs. I didn’t know if there was an event, but thought I’d check it out anyway. As it turned out she was speaking at 7:30 so I got in the line and attended my 3rd rally of the week. I was close to the front and again stayed only for the speech.  All three candidates echoed the talking points I’d heard before, but it’s still neat to see it in person.

If I really wanted to, I could have attended the president’s or Bernie Sander’s rallies,  in Manchester on Monday, but I felt I’d had enough.

New Hampshirites take their politics seriously. As the first primary in the nation, residents get that rare opportunity to see many candidates in a small area.  I’m glad I can take advantage of this unique opportunity here in New England. Oh, and Yes, I voted!!

 

 

 

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller