the BIG day

The BIG Day

the endless line

The HUGE crowd

 

The BIG CheersI

Ohio's delegation met for our usual morning briefing that included a Memorial Tribute to Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. As you might imagine, all Ohio's elected officials paid tribute to Stephanie (Governor Strickland, Senator Brown, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunning, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Refern, and a lot of other people too (this was a 1 hour tribute). 

The remainder of the day was dedicated to getting to and into Invesco Field. No matter what you saw on TV, this was an enormous event. I heard $50 million along for security. And I believe it. Today's security was miles beyond what we had seen on prior days. 

First, to realize: Unlike the Pepsi Center, Invesco Field was not that accessible by foot. And even by vehicle, not so easy. A majority of the main roads to Invesco Field were closed. 

For me, this day was both exhilarating and exhausting.

First: Exhilarating.

Another Sparkling Denver day eliminated the weather worries. Lana and I went to lunch with all leaders of the Women's Movement including: Ellie Smeal, President. Feminist Majority, who sat with Joe Biden during the Clinton Speech and Kathy Spillar, Executive Editor Ms. Magazine.

The restaurant was very close to Invesco Field so we all felt very "safe" that we had plenty of time to avoid a rush. 

I was the first to leave. And as soon as I walked into the adjacent parking lot, I was stunned. As far as I could see, there was a winding line of thousands of people waiting to clear the credential check point. Dozens of Denver volunteers were trying to manage the crowd which-over all-was very controlled and patient. I was told that my "delegate badge" did not qualify me to "jump to the head of the line" and in no uncertain terms I was to "go to the end" (I couldn't even see the end of that line!) Long story short: I marched myself to the front of the line, declared I had a delegate credential and still the volunteer started pointing me in the "end of the line" direction while saying, "You'll have to speak with the Secret Service". I did and was ushered right through the "credential check".

"Ahh", you may say, "she got in." Not so fast! From there, I had about another mile of a winding and uphill trek to the 2nd security check point. 

FInally, at 3.30 pm I got to the seat my friend Judi Wolf was saving. 

All the speeches and pagent you saw on TV, need no comment from me. The crowd was HUGE and showed their love throughout the day and evening.

GETTING OUT: one word: Nightmare.

Almost 90,000 people leaving at the same time was wild. There were dozens of buses for people w/a credential but there were 10,000 of us and the buses were jammed. There was NO organization at all. Finally, on a bus that sat in the parking lot for another hour (!), I returned to my hotel 2 hours after leaving my seat in Invesco Field.

Today was not a day for the faint of heart!