Granite City Days Parade a Success!

I had the honor of being in St. Cloud's Granite City Days Parade with Steve Gottwalt this evening-- and I would term the affair a rousing success, not so much of all that went well, but because of things that didn't go so well.

Let me explain.

There was a lot of energy at the beginning of the parade route. Although there was a little mist in the air, it was still relatively good parade weather. There were approximately 20 supporters of Steve who were walking the route with him; myself, I had the honor of driving a hot-looking 2006 Pontiac Solstice in the parade. Everything was going great until around half-way in the parade, when all hell let loose weatherwise. It was pouring rain like the dickens; an event that would have led a lesser group of people take cover. But instead of losing energy from a drenching rain, Steve's pace picked up! He was running back and forth in the pouring rain, shaking everyone's hands, smiling, and exuding enough energy to power a medium-sized town for a week. He was in his element, and on his game, and the crowd was cheering him on.

We, those who were walking and riding with Steve, were able to pick up on his energy ourselves. King's wife, Barb, along with littlest Scholar, made up some on-the-spot choreography with the other sign carriers--and all were having a blast!

[I did get a chance to see the DFL portion of the parade, and I believe that Al Franken himself was walking in it (though I can't be sure).. The DFLers actually had a real jack-ass (no kidding) walking with them. And on the top of one of their cars, was a life-sized standing cardboard cutout of "The Messiah" Obama (oh, the rich irony in that)].

Unfortunately, during the rain my Treo 680 got wet, and FUBARed, so I was unable to take pictures. Rest assured, though, I have never seen a campaigner like Steve Gottwalt, and I'm honored to be on his team!