Thursday, October 05, 2006

Democrats Are Funny

By this I mean Democrats are amusing. I like manning Democratic Headquarters every two years, because I do it for my own entertainment. I get to giggle all day. This year, Jay and I are giggling together. so, when I say "we" I am referring to the two of us, not using the Royal 'We'.

Nothing ever changes, except the people, and not even all of them. It is such a comfortable feeling, going there and knowing exactly what to expect. Nowhere else in life does this happen.

"Here we are", we say, "the next shift." Whoever we are talking to, usually a woman, will know fresh meat when she sees it, and she starts with "Well, I hope you have a quieter time than I did. So-and-so came in here yesterday afternoon and rearranged all of the materials that I had meticulously placed in alphabetical order that morning, by the last names of the candidates. SHE complained that someone had set up the tables all wrong and SHE had to spend the whole afternoon reorganizing the materials in alphabetical order by the offices they are seeking. So, I had to spend THIS morning putting everything back the way I had it, so don't let anyone mess with it, OK?"

Oooooooooooo-Kaaaaaaaaaaaaay, we say, as she leaves. Now, we are on notice, and are reluctant to let anyone touch anything, even if they want to take away a sign or a campaign button.

A few minutes later, another woman comes in to make sure we showed up. She doesn't say that's why she's there, but, we've been doing this for years, right?

She's also there so she can register her very own complaint. "Someone has decided there should be a fund raising dinner for (fill in the candidate), and didn't bother to tell some of us." There's fire in her eye and there'll be hell to pay, says her expression.

About this time, a man comes in, and she starts telling him her story and he agrees that he didn't know anything about the dinner, either, even though it is to be held right there at Headquarters that very night, and he doesn't know why Democrats can't just learn to communicate.

After he leaves, she fidgets around a bit, and suddenly, there he is - the ingrate who planned the fundraiser and neglected to tell anyone about it (it used to be "some of us", and now it's "all of us" who haven't heard about it.) And, he is studiously avoiding her.

He has brought a table cloth or two and a package of 50 plastic plates that he seems to think will feed the two-hundred people he is expecting to show up. And, he looks around, and says, "Oh, we're going to need some tables. I thought we already had tables." It is two hours from blast-off and he wanders back out the door and drives away.

Ms. long-time Democrat looks first at me, then at Jay, her eyebrows hovering just below her hairline, her lips pursed, and her chin tucked into her neck, and I read this to mean, "See how inept that cretin is? Who does he think is going to set up tables and cover them with one tablecloth, and serve barbecued chicken, slaw, potato salad and rolls for 200 people, on 50 plastic plates?" Yes, her look says all this and more. And, we take her questions to be rhetorical.

Finally, a couple of guys come in to entertain us for a while with their "good old boy schtick". Only, they're the real thing. This is not an act. And, pretty soon, we're laughing and wiping away tears, and before you know it, it's time for our shift to be over. And, we get to do this again next week, because we love being Democrats.

But, we wouldn't come back for that fund-raising dinner tonight for all the money in the world plus four dollars.

6 comments:

Newt said...

come on, getting a pile of chicken and slaw dumped into your waiting palms - since they ran out of plates 125 people ago? How could you NOT want to go?

Annie said...

As Art Linkletter used to say, People are funny. And, if I'm not mistaken, he was a Republican.

An interesting post, Betty, and so true about how volunteers, committed to a cause, operate together and separately to accomplish something larger than themselves.

Anonymous said...

Some folks get to have all the fun....LOL

Well now you have definitely aroused my curiosity as to how the fund-raiser went and if anyone showed up. Not going, based on the described events, has to be a very wise decision. :)

Kell said...

Well, at least you've found the bright side of volunteering. It actually sounds fun. We'll need an update on how that fundraiser went.

F&W said...

Sounds like you two are taking the quirks of volunteering in stride. :)

gawilli said...

Ah, it's good to be a Democrat - wouldn't want it any other way!