We continue along our campaign tour of Rte. 1 on the east coast… I gave a talk at St. Ann’s Church in Colonial Heights, Virginia. I said our lifestyles in America are significantly fueling global warming. And as weather patterns change, more arid countries are already experiencing drought and famine. I said this would be analogous to us collectively firing slow motion bullets at these other countries. A “pro-Life” issue? Sure… While in Colonial Heights, I interviewed Fr. Lou Ruoff who is the author of the book: Reflections. At one point, Fr. Ruoff worked at the Covenant House in New York City. This is a transition home for run away youth. And some of the stories were beyond tragic. One 12-year-old girl, for instance, was on the run for having killed her stepfather. So often these days, extreme parental abuse pushes kids over the edge… While in Colonial Heights, we also went to Henricus Village, which was the first English settlement in from Jamestown. This was the home of the first hospital in North America and the first college in North America (circa 1619). Note: When we started on Rte. 1, we met Terri Sipanzi and his family at Lucky’s Ice Cream Place in southern Virginia (just off Rte. 1). He approached us with a green parrot (“Kiwi”) on his shoulder. He and his wife Barb have the company Precision Windsports, Inc. in Lynchburg, Virginia. Terri said the business is in a tail spin (pun intended) because of the economy — these kind of hobbies being the first to go from someone’s budget.
Softball with Iran?
Catching up on some of our recent backroads campaigning… Just outside Huntington, West Virginia, I interviewed Frank Holcomb from Point Pleasant in Mason County. He is a retired state trooper. Several years prior, he had answered a domestic violence call and was shot in the leg. He became disabled because of the injury and had to retire early. Officer Holcomb has a wife, two young children and is a member of New Hope Bible Baptist Church. We talked about how society was becoming more violent as a whole and I said it was my belief those who put themselves in harm’s way day in and day out should be compensated accordingly… While in Huntington, West Virginia, we spent time on the Marshall University campus. On Saturday Nov. 14, 1970, the Marshall University football team and staff (75 people in all) crashed just before reaching the Tri-State Airport runway while returning from a game. Everyone was killed… While in Huntington, we also talked with Grattan Gannon . His wife inherited the “Hatfield Cemetery.” That’s right, the ‘Hatfield’ of Hatfield’s and McCoy’s fame. We were told there’s not much fuedin’ going on these days. In fact, the families get together for an annual softball game each year now. After hearing this, I couldn’t help but ruminate that maybe that’s the answer to a lot of these current international conflicts (with Iran, North Korea…). Maybe we should all get together for some softball games. (And some actually intimate I’m weak on foreign policy. Ha!) Note: Gratten is an absolutely fabulous story teller, the Garrison Keillor of Appalachia, if you will. And, in ‘down home’ fashion, he told us that at one of the funerals at the cemetery, a rather cantancerous Hatfield was on his way to his burial. He was in a coffin on the back of a pick-up truck. The cemetery is at the top of a rather steep hill and as the pick-up was climbing it, the coffin slid off and created quite a ruckus. “See, even dead I knew Jeb was still going to mess this thing up,” one mourner (sort of) was heard to say.
Green Party Convention
We headed into Durham, North Carolina, for the Green Party National Convention. The Green Party, in my estimation, is tremendously forward thinking on a good number of issues, including the environment. They are on the cutting edge, for instance, of promoting “green economics.” That is, the party promotes a shift to much more: renewable energy, local production for local consumption, alternative transportation… I recently told an online newspaper in Huntington, West Virginia, that I saw climate change as a “pro-Life issue.” No world, no life… The Green Party is also quite strong on issues involving diversity, social justice and grassroots democracy. Note: While in Durham, I took our boys to a Saturday night Durham Bulls Minor League Baseball game. We sat on the lawn beyond the center field fence and had an absolutely great time. What’s more, it cost only 20 bucks for the three of us (and that included getting a pop in an “official” Durham Bulls big plastic cup).
whirlwind in Huntington, WV
We’ve stayed in Huntington, West Virginia (pop. 50,000) the last week amidst a whirlind of activity. I was interviewed by the online newspaper here and Channel 3 News did an interview during a whistle-stop event we held downtown. Last Sunday I talked at all the weekend Masses at St. Joseph’s Church about pro-Life issues. We then met with columnist Patrick Grace, who is with Huntington’s Herald Dispatch newspaper. We were on the same page with Mr. Grace when it comes to holding a Consistent Life Ethic. That is, this sets us against abortion, euthanasia, poverty, pollution and anything else that can end life prematurely… We also stumped in the Jolly Pirate Donut place here with some guys at the counter who had seen the Channel 3 News spot. One said: “Whatever you do, don’t say anything against coal as you’re touring West Virginia.” This still didn’t convince me that speaking against blowing the tops off mountains to get to the coal isn’t called for.
Kentucky ‘Hoosiers’ and Post Modernism
While in Ashland, Kentucky, we talked with Liz Trabandt, who is in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. She coached girls basketball at nearby Russell High School. A relatively small school, the girls basketball team twice made it to the Kentucky State Finals. Ms. Trabandt said it was, to a degree, like the Hoosiers story. She gave our Sarah, who has played on a Rec. Center team back in Cleveland, some pointers. The one she stressed most was “practice, practice, practice.” …We then traveled further east to Huntington, West Virginia, where I talked with Joshua Sowards who is a Minister to Youth and Families at First Baptist Church in nearby Kenova, West Virginia (The pastor is Steve Willis). Sowards told me they are in the process of planting a church at Marshall College in Huntington. He said there is “no surprise” that many people are spiritually lost in our Post Modern culture. What’s more, he said even though much of modern philosophy is antithetical to the Gospel message, the biggest reason why people aren’t looking for God is because there’s a “lack of need.” That is, people are often comfortable enough in their lifestyles, etc., that they don’t feel much of a need to rely on God.
4th of July
We traveled through the rolling hills of northern Kentucky, stopping first in Flemingsburg (pop. 3,100). On fourth of July, we talked at length with John Dunn and Dwayne Roller, who were both in the Armed Services. Mr. Roller received a Purple Heart during the Korean Conflict. And Mr. Dunn was in Thialand servicing U.S. bombers flying into Vietnam. (He vividly remembers the intense bombing of Cambodia just before the war ended.) And while not everyone is on the same page when it comes to, say, the Iraq War, the Vietnam War — now deceased Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, who was one of the ‘architects’ of the Vietnam War, later expressed misgivings about it –; we can all be on the same page in regard to recognizing the courage (and just plain guts) those ‘on the ground’ demonstrate during a time of war… Both Mr. Dunn and Mr. Roller are also extremely active Christians who participate in small covenant communities. And Mr. Dunn also is quite an astute Bible teacher… While we were in Flemingsburg, we also attended the Dunn family annual fourth of July celebration. It was quintessential Americana, with hot dogs, hamburgers, country music, backyard fireworks and a homemade rocket launcher that fired (Are you ready for this?): potatoes. In fact this was so impressive (the potatoes would fly 300 yards or more), our administration may well consider putting in a bunch of scud, oops, I mean ‘spud’ missile silos in, like, Idaho. Just kidding, sort of.
Green Party and global warming
We have temporarily detoured off Route 50 to head for the annual Green Party National Convention in Durham, North Carolina, toward the end of the month. I told a reporter Tonia Rose of The Morehead News in Kentucky today that I believed global warming is real, an imminent threat (as many scientists are now indicating), and that we have to act aggressively to reverse it — “…so there’s a world for our kids to grow up in.” I also told Ms. Rose that when it comes to reversing global warming, the Green Party — by far — has the best platform to do this… While in Morehead, I also talked with Al Evans. He was in the military and stationed at a nuclear missile base in New Mexico. “Was it White Sands Missile Base?” I asked. “No,” he said. “It’s so secretive, I still can’t tell you where it is.” (He was there in the height of the Cold War.) In regard to the current tension with Iran, Evans said he sees their nuclear posturing as merely “saber rattling.” Note: We have thousands of nuclear missiles aimed all over the world. As president, I would scale this back significantly and take some of the savings and earmark them for humanitarian aid into Iran. Number one, they need the help. And two, if you start to help a neighbor you’re fueding with, well, this often helps ‘disarm’ the tension. Common sense.
backbone
From Liz: We just hit Route 50 in Chillicothe, Ohio. Route 50 is touted as the “Backbone of America,” running coast-to-coast through the center of the country. It made me reflect on the backbone of this nation, or for that matter any nation: solid families. Solid families need solid marriages and solid parenting, including solid child discipline. Most of us would agree with that, but in real life we often struggle to live it out. I believe part of the problem comes from growing up in a culture of indulgence and instant gratification. For Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and generations following, we have lived with much, and thought we had a right to much. Often with little effort on our part to achieve it. Along the way, we have lost the fortitude and resilience to hang in there through the “tough stuff.” How does that relate to solid families? We get married and three months later the honeymoon is over. Now we argue, then have to do the hard work of communicating through conflict. The four-year-old is throwing a tantrum in the store and now we have to choose between giving in to what he wants, or leave and discipline the child. Or, for instance, a teen is drinking and we have the difficult decision to make about establishing household boundaries, knowing the youth, in the short term, might make it extremely uncomfortable… Just north of Route 50 at a YMCA in Circleville, Ohio, the other day, we were hussled into an interior room of a YMCA when tornado warnings were issued for the area. (When it comes to excuses not to exercise, this is a pretty good one.) Anyway, as we settled in for the wait, a 10-year-old boy — on his way to manhood — started screaming and crying. He had apparently traded an item with another boy, and now wanted the item back. The other boy didn’t want to trade back, and thus the tantrum. The boy wasn’t getting what he wanted, and he apparently thought his behavior would force someone’s hand. A staff member, who appeared to be a veteran parent, showed up and firmly told the boy he couldn’t behave in that manner. However, if he remained quiet, they could talk further. This was affective, and the ensuing converstaion allowed the boy to express himself. The staff member, in turn, established her boundary paramaters again as well, including explaining to the boy there would be no trade back. She also advised him in the future not to bring his own toys to the YMCA. Both her firmness, and respect for the boy, struck me as good solid parenting techniques. Sadly, this firmness and respect are things that are predominately lacking in our current society. This staff person impressed me so much, that I complimented her on my way out… I am challenged every day to practice backbone in my marriage and with my children. Maybe we can support each other to build stronger families — and thus a stronger nation.
‘loneliest highway’
We went to Mass at St. Peter’s in Chillicothe, Ohio, yesterday. Just before singing the final hymn, the priest noted it had been “one of President Kennedy’s favorite.” After Mass, I approached the priest, told him I was running for president as an independent candidate, and said I wondered if he wanted to know my favorite hymn for the next Service. He smiled, politely… In Chillicothe, we connected with Rte. 50, which is our next tour route. It stretches from coast to coast and is known as: “The loneliest highway in America.” Once again, defying any type of political logic, we press on… In Hillsboro, Ohio, I talked with a woman who had taken her child out of the public high school in ninth grade “…because the kids were continually making fun of her.” During one of our previous tours, I told a newspaper in Cheboygan, Michigan, that the ‘Columbine killings,’ and the like, don’t happen in a vaccuum. It’s a build-up of years of ridicule, bullying and a variety of other psycho-social dynamics that push kids over the edge… In tiny Belfast, Ohio, we stopped at Boltes General Store (established in 1955). It had an old wooden floor, a juke box, a decorative Shell Oil pump from the mid 1930s… Great place! I put a campaign flier in the window and they gave me a commemorative Boltes General Store pen, which I will cherish — because my other pen had just run out of ink. Have I mentioned it’s a low budget campaign?
different blood types
I held a protest sign in front of St. Paul’s Church in Westerville, Ohio, today that said: ABORTION KILLS BABIES. Later after Mass there, a man said to me that many pro-choice people justify their stance by saying the fetus is merely an extension of the woman’s body. He noted if that is the case, how come some unborn babies have: different blood types than the mother? …Westerville was once known as the “Dry Capitol of the World.” In the mid-1800s, Westerville passed one of the earliest prohibition ordinances in the country… We then headed further south, stopping in Circleville, Ohio (home of the century-old Circleville Pumpkin Festival). They take pumpkins so seriously here, that the water tower is painted orange and shaped like a pumpkin — even including a big green stem on top… Then it was on to Chillicothe, Ohio, which was Ohio’s first state capitol (and home of the Chillicothe Paints Minor League baseball team). This evening we stayed with Jimmy and Mollie Maimone in Chuillicothe. They have eight children. When I asked Jimmy about the challenges of a big family, his first response was: “Oh, we’re just trying to get them all to Heaven.” What an absolutely wonderful response, given our current culture. Note: A Hearst Newspapers report today noted “climatic ruin has begun.” The article sighted top U.S. scientists who just issued a report warning that climate change is “already wreaking devastating changes on the U.S.” If there is a party that has the most solid answer for reversing the effects of global warming, in my opinion, it would be the Green Party.