Vote for Joe

I was interviewed today by Tammy Wells of the Journal Tribune. She asked how my reception had been here in Sanford, Maine so far. I said: “not good.” I prefaced the story by saying John Kerry probably appeared on the front page of every newspaper across the country for his “first pitch” the night before at the Red Sox game. Not to be outdone, I approached the operations manager of the Sanford Mainers (Summer Inter-Collegiat College League) to throw out the “first pitch” at their game last night here. She, as judiciously as possible, said she was sorry but they had one of the stadium volunteers lined up to throw the “first pitch” because it was, after all, Volunteer Night. Undaunted, I continued: “How about the ‘second pitch?'” She smiled, but said no again. However, I did take in a few innings. And what’s more, I got to experience something Kerry missed out on altogether: “Bruce d’Moose.” The Mainer’s mascot is, that’s right, a moose — big furry head with with antlers, the whole thing! During the 7th inning stretch, ‘Bruce’ even got a top the Mainer’s ‘Moose Mobile’ and circled the stadium waving and tilting his antlers. A sight you won’t want to miss if you are up in this part of Maine any time before the season is over. And life on the back roads rolls on…

We were invited to Warner, New Hampshire for the 30th Anniversary of Magdalen College this weekend. This small college is thread through with a tremendous Catholic ethos. The keynote speaker was a Superior from a Benedictine Monestary in Rome, Italy. And during his talk, he said people in leadership positions will be called to give an accounting to God of those they were entrusted to lead. After the talk, I told my wife Liz that that puts a whole new light on this: “presidency thing.” I mean just for one, I’m not sure the people in Northern California want to be necessarily led — by anyone. We also met Joshua Miller, his wife and three children at Magdalen. Miller said they are part of Samaritan Ministries, which is a Christian Health Insurance Group that has started up across the nation. He said because of the relatively large size of the group now, their family pays a comparitively low premium every month. And he said when someone in the network experiences medical problems, not only are they compensated financially, but a whole prayer network in the group kicks in as well. The Millers said they do their part to stay healthy too, with, for instance, a diet of only small amounts of sugar, wheat and dairy products. Average Joe truism: If we ate better, exercised more and were less stressed — we wouldn’t get sick as much. Well, it’s true.

We stopped at the “Common Grounds Cafe” in Lancaster, New Hampshire today where Dale Martin told us I was the first presidential candidate to stop at his establishment “since John Edwards almost came here.” (Leading up to the New Hampshire Primary earlier this year, Edwards was scheduled to come to the Cafe, but last minute wasn’t able to.) Over a cup of coffee, Martin told me he was a member of the “12 Tribes,” a Christian Community of people living together in three houses here and sharing everything in common — because that’s how the Bible says to do it. (There are 12 Tribe Communities worldwide.) The community members pray, eat, exercise, raise children, work… together. They, for instance, own the Cafe and a number of other businesses throughout town. We spent the day touring their facilities, sharing stories and praying together. I told the local Coos County Democrat newspaper I was quite impressed with the camaraderie, the atmosphere of prayer and, well, the love that seems to be here. I was also left with the question (one I’ve thought about often): If the Bible says so clearly that this was how the early Christians were meant to live: why did that ever change? The next day we went to Jefferson, New Hampshire to catch up with some of the 12 Tribe Community members who had taken their children swimming in a rather isolated pond here. They don’t want their children exposed to the immodesty of modern public swimming venues. What’s more, the women and girls ‘swim wear’ consists of quite modest, sort of puffy pants that come down to almost mid-calf, and quite modest t-shirts and the like, the men and boys wear long shorts and keep their t-shirts on even in the water. Our children dress likewise when they are swimming, and for the first time in quite some time on the road, our family didn’t feel out of place. What’s more, I can’t tell you how much respect I had for these parents and their concern, not so much for their childrens’ fashion statements — as their childrens’ souls.

St. Johnsbury is the host of this year’s Babe Ruth Youth League Baseball Playoffs. Teams from all over the state were here, and I took our kids to a couple of the games. Fairly good attendance. There had to be about 200 people. I have often said, as president, I would be way more apt to throw out the “first pitch” at one of these youth stadiums than at, say, Yankee Stadium or Camden Yards… It is these young people who need our attention most.

At the St. Johnsbury House in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, I gave an impromptu “front porch” speech, in the tradition of another Ohio presidential candidate, Warren Harding. (The only difference being Harding would do these things from his front porch.) The St. Johnsbury House is a home for seniors here. I later told reporter Rachael Morrow, of the local Caledonian Record, that our platform calls for maintaining the Social Security fund, but more… “social security should be just that: social security.” That is, instead of being pushed off in nursing homes, assissted living facilities and RV travel, the seniors should be restored to their rightful, and respected, place in our family homes and communities — like it was in the old days, and like it still is in other cultures.