My two cents on Boston.

[_dynamicdems]

Was it was absolutely wonderful? Ah, yeah. Can't really find the words to express how WICKED a time we all had.

I do have to share an e-mail that a friend sent to me in response to my relating of the Boston story:

It may be difficult to stop you from floating on air after your wonderful time with John Kerry, heck I'd vote for somebody as down to earth as that. Anybody that drinks beer with my favorite democrat has to be all right, and he paid too, wow and double wow. You couldn't get a glass of water from Bush. Ok so you've converted me I'm a Democrat.

I might be mistaken about who said what at the pub. I'd be a horrible witness if ever called on to be one. But here is something I think JK said. It may have been someone else, so correct me if I'm wrong. Free beer. Floating on Cloud Nine. Shocked from being an honored guest of Teresa Heinz. These are major excuses. Anyhow here's what I sort of remember:

Something about a "ripple affect" and "keep up the good work."

I also remember discussing Freepers with a couple of Kerry associates and being surprised that they didn't know what a Freeper was. Did anyone introduce the term to Senator Kerry?

JK was asking questions about blogs and the Internet he seemed very interesting in hearing what everyone had to say. He talked, but he listened a lot too. I think he was trying to pick brains about the state of things out there in the wild and woolly blogosphere. However, I didn't hear all the details and the brains he was picking were probably pretty pickled by the time the Senator arrived at the pub. We had a head start and the beer was free.

The best part of the whole adventure was that we were there to support Senator Kerry on his birthday. Teresa was very happy because she got to surprise her husband with something that apparently touched him deeply. His job is pretty thankless most of the time and I think it meant a great deal to him that people came from all over the country to snowy Boston just to show him that we appreciate him. The fact that Teresa arranged this, probably made him even happier. He seemed to love the surprise and the tribute. Teresa seemed very excited to be able to do this for him and for us. Very sweet lady.

As one very wise woman kept telling me when I was about to bolt and run from stage fright:wink:, "It's not about us, it's about Senator Kerry." That was so very true, which was what was so touching about the entire evening. He has worked so damn hard and has gotten nothing but a load of crap for his troubles. To me, this entire excursion was really all about showing appreciation to a great leader on his birthday. The fact that he left his home (where he had guests) to come out to say "hello" at the pub showed that this really meant something to him. He seemed very happy. And that is the bottom line here: the Senator had a good birthday and we got to be part of that.

[ProSense]

1. Thanks. Wonderful account. All I can say is

Teresa sure knows how to pick presents. This group is terrific and apparently JK and THK think so too.

:grouphug:

[emulatorloo]

2. thanks for writing this -- I am really enjoying your individual stories

EOM

[beachmom]

3. Thanks Dynamic Dem for that story!

The whole terminology of the blogosphere is kinda weird if you think about it.

"Yes, Senator Kerry, we call out the troops when a lefty freeper starts a Kerry bashing thread about the IWR and the DSM, usually descending into S & B and the stolen election. Of course, then they complained to the mods that we were a bunch of fascist Kerry warriors planted by Karl Rove at DU."

Hope y'all could break it down for him. Did anyone tell him that Sen. Barack Obama and Feingold have done threads on dailykos, and they were kind of treated badly? That Kos asserts that a senator or congressman, if they go on his site, are nobody special and have to defend their views just like everyone else?

But anyway, that's so cool that he was really curious about it. Actually, bloggers across the land should be happy about this, as we're all looking for a little respect from the powers that be!

[europegirl4jfk]

4. Thanks for telling us your story

And thanks to all the other participants who did so before. I think we now have a very good idea how your evening was like. And the fact that Teresa arranged this and made her husband happy is the most amazing thing to me. Imagine, she knows that you ladies are lusting after her husband (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating here, but still...*g*) and nevertheless makes him this birthday surprise. That takes every eventual ambiguity out of it - if there ever had been any in the first place. It only shows us how much these two extraordinary people trust and love each other.

[_dynamicdems]

13. Hey, *I'm* not lusting after anybody. I'd prefer to keep it about

other things. If I want to be a female chauvinist, I'll go to a ladies club and watch the buff young men do their thang. (I am only using this as an example. I certainly do not intend to do that either.) Seriously, the sex talk embarasses me. I'm not saying anything is wrong with it, but I don't want to be lumped into the category of women lusting after Kerry. Can't some of us admire him for other reasons? ::sigh::

[kerrygoddess]

14. Imagine what

the MSM would say or the Rove spin machine about that insinuation. Imagine how hard his staff would have to work to clear up any misconceptions. What's considered all in good fun in here could be troublesome - I'm a mother hen type myself at this point - I don't want to see anything come back to bite our guy.

[blm]

5. What a great point of view.

It is very much appreciated.

[saracat]

6. Beautiul. What a generous story! Thank you!

[kerrygoddess]

7. the blogosphere...

and the staff guys...

It's my understanding that most of them don't have time to keep up with the blogosphere, which is well understood because it's time consuming to get around to all the blogs and forums. Most of them know it's out there, but things like the lingo we use is unfamiliar to some. I remember once a few months ago emailing something to on and using DU in the email and the question comes back - "what is DU". I replied "Democratic Underground" and it was understood. There's a lot more I could explain about what they know, what would be helpful for them to know... I'd rather not discuss it here, because of lurkers.

You all had a wonderful treat. The stories are awesome - the impressions that it made on each of you... I'm so happy for you all.

[Dr Ron]

8. It also varies with individuals

While many at the top don't have the time to follow the blogs, some others in Kerry's office do to some degree.

For example, I have a nephew who worked in Washingon and happened to move into a house which included someone who works in Kerry's Washington office. When my nephew sent some mass emails which included both me and this room mate, the room mate who works in Kerry's office recognized my name from the email list. Plus when Teresa was in Michigan, both she and a staffer traveling with her (who is still working there), knew who I was from the official blog.

[blm]

9. Lucky you.

PeteNYC told me in 2003 that some senior staffers were familiar with my efforts, but I never made an overture to test it myself.

[kerrygoddess]

10. Because you are so good at what you do!

They know who watches JK's back!

[blm]

11. heheh....I'm akin to Not-so-secret-service, by now.

.

[kerrygoddess]

12. LOL!

Uh huh! We're all part of the "We've Got Your Back" team...

[jillan]

15. Last nite I was thinking that the Kerrycrat Reps just may have been

the highlight of the evening.

Think about it - John Kerry found out that there is a group of people, variety of ages, all over the country that appreciate him so much that they were willing to come out to Boston during the holiday season, crappy weather, just to say I SUPPORT YOU JOHN KERRY!

And that is very cool - wicked:)

Keep high-fiving each other - you deserve it!!