I feel I must preface this by saying that this will not be a political story, although it will involve a political person. If you've known me for longer than five minutes, you know I love politics, and certainly don't shrink from discussing it in the right setting. But I don't want to be that obnoxious person who uses Facebook and her blog as a boring platform. My social media outlets encompass friends from work, church, community, school, etc., so I usually keep my politics more private, unless I'm asked. Luckily, I'm asked often. :-) If you want to know how I feel about something and why, then hit me up privately, and I'll spill. Oh, I'll spill -- as many of you know, and sadly, encourage.
ANYWAY.... the story.
So there I was, tooling down I-70. I'd left Wynette's place in Henderson this morning, and was making good time. I was in Utah, between Salina and Green River. If you travel that stretch, you know it as "the section where there are no services for over a hundred miles." It's also the stretch where Bonnie and Natalie and I almost died a few years ago.... but that's a story for another blog posting, right, girls? I was zipping along at 80 miles per hour. (Yes, 80!! There were signs up saying they were doing "speed limit testing" or something, so I got to go fast!) Hmm, I can see I'm going to be quite easily distracted while telling this tale. I'd best start over.
So there I was, driving in Utah. I got a text from one of my "work peeps," saying that my assistance was needed quickly. I was approaching a "scenic overlook" area, which was around a bendy road that curved around a hill. I whipped in, snaked around and parked, glanced to my left, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Mitt Romney's bus. It was large and navy blue. Wow!
Okay, I know it's annoying, but I have to pause again to say something else. I'm kind of a freak about meeting political candidates, because you just never know which one is going to turn out to be President, and we'd all like to be able to say we've met the President, right? And because of my unique blend of "living in first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa," "formerly having a super specialized job with CNN," and "being a political junkie," it turns out that I've met or talked on the phone with most of the political candidates since the Clinton era. So to just happen to get called by work at that minute, and to just happen to whip into a random "scenic overlook" in the middle of butt-nowhere, and happen to see Romney's bus... that's fun.
So in an instant, my razor-sharp (ha) mind noted that there was a small group of people gathered around the steps of the bus, as though they were boarding for departure. Obviously, there would be no time for planning my approach. With no regard for my personal dignity (as if I EVER have such regard) I hopped out of my car, which was parked right at the back side of the bus, and called out, "Mister Romney!" (It probably should have been "Governor" Romney... but that's the least of my embarrassment, I suppose.) Mind you, I didn't actually see Romney in the group of people... but I assumed he was probably there.
For some reason, the group paused and looked over. I realized I didn't see him, although I'm not super familiar with his appearance. But they were sort of looking into the bus, and then this head popped out. I realized I was on the spot to say something, so I called out three words. Oh dear. I can't even bring myself to tell you, dear readers, what they were. You'll have to hit me up in private if you'd like to know. But let's just say I was pressed to say something quickly, and quickly I said something.
I got back in my car, and handled the work situation. ("Another life saved.") Side note: Turns out that I get pretty slow internet when I'm parked at a scenic overlook a quarter mile from the Interstate, at least 50 miles from any sort of town civilized enough to even have fuel or other "services." Crazy.
So here's the thing... I'm not even sure that was Mitt. The lateness in the day and the direction of the setting sun made it hard to see that side of the bus, and you can see in my photo. While I was sitting there with my slow internet, I was googling to find out where he is today. The best I could find out was that yesterday, when he made a statement about the Colorado shootings, he was in the Northeast. The head was Mitt-shaped, certainly, but that doesn't mean much. Maybe the people chuckled because they thought I was nuts, and might charge them if they didn't act pleasant. For all I know, they jotted down my license plate number, and I'm now on (yet another) FBI watch list. Great.
After I finished my working and googling, I headed back out, and later I caught up to the bus. I have to tell you that they drive at a very safe speed -- nowhere near 80 miles per hour. I was careful to not make eye contact with the bus driver (it wasn't Mitt, by the way), or even look too closely at the heavily-tinted windows, in case they really did think I was a loon.
So, I exchanged words with yet another Presidential candidate. Maybe. Either way, it was a fun story.
Sometimes my life is surreal, even to me.
UPDATE: After a few Facebook comments, I realize that I'd better just admit the three moronic words that I called out. Okay, here we go. I cheerily said, "Go get 'em!"
Of course, I meant a general, "Go take on the democratic process, and show the world the glory of free and fair elections!" The people who were gazing at me, especially if that wasn't Mitt in the bus, probably thought I said, "Go get him!" And that will only contribute to my name being added to the FBI watch list. In fact, don't be surprised if I disappear from this hotel room tonight. Wish me luck.
