Since California’s primary is so late and we’re pretty much a true blue state, politicians usually don’t come here unless they’re doing a fundraiser. So, when Bernie Sanders announced that he was doing a free rally right here in Palo Alto, I knew we had to go. I’d never been to a political rally before, and who knows when this might happen again!
I walked by the site (Cubberley Community Center) on my early morning walk and saw the beginnings of the event preparation. It was the calm before the storm, but there were already news vans, semi trucks, and volunteers setting up booths. And lots of red, white, and blue.
I really had no idea what to expect in terms of the number of people attending or how hard it would be to get in. They started letting people in at 11:30, but the event wasn’t set to start until after 2:00. So, I let the boys finish school (it was their early day, a 1:40 dismissal) and then we biked over to Cubberley and met Bruce there. We eased through security and surprisingly found a place to sit in the bleachers. The only problem was that Finn was complaining of a stomach ache. But Finn’s been complaining of a stomach ache a lot this year (stressful school year), so I just kept trying to comfort him instead of giving in and going home.
It was a pretty good sized crowd.
Finally, Bernie came out (in his Warriors cap) and gave his regular speech. It was very strange to hear his words in person and super fun to be there.
We stayed for about half of the speech before finally giving in to Finn’s painful stomach. Since we were on bikes, he was forced to ride home. We got about half way when he asked to take a break and proceeded to throw up all over the sidewalk. Poor kid! Needless to say, our joy at participating in an actual live political event was marred by the parental guilt of making Finn sit through it when he was obviously sick. He remained sick for the next six days, missing out on all of the end-of-the-year festivities and the first day of his bicycle camp. But on the positive side, he’s fine now and no one else got it, so I guess that’s a plus.
As for Bernie Sanders, he went on to lose the California primary the next week. We didn’t think he’d win the nomination, but it was exciting to have him in town nonetheless.