Anatomy of a Political Campaign Office

They are young, some as young as high school, but no less efficient.  One teenager makes more phone calls in any given day than any other volunteer and even goes out and registers voters and goes door to door.

Some will not even be old enough to vote by the Fall election, but are every bit as excited as if they could.

Some are are old, some in their 90's, who have seen and heard everything in their lifetimes-depressions, hardships,wars, booms, enormous changes in people's lives.

Some are black-some Africans, some African-Americans, some Haitians, some mixed black/Hispanics, some black Caribbean islanders, some multiracial who identify themselves as black.  Some can vote, some cannot, but they all want to work for the man who identifies himself as the first Black President.

Some are Asians, Hispanics, Indian-Americans, Arab Americans-just about ever hyphenated American or hope to be Americans are here, hoping the dream will come true for them and their children.

Some are Jews whose main concern is Israel, and its many enemies, especially Iran.

Some belong to the LGBT community who have worked to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Gay Marriage and gay rights, who are finally finding validation and hope.

Some are foreign students who are not eligible to vote in this country or people waiting to become citizens who are happy to work for a president who gives them hope.

Some are disabled and come in wheelchairs and walkers and are concerned about health issues, quality of life, services for them in the future.

Some are neighborhood team leaders who are campaign veterans who have now brought their own children into the campaign.  They wear so many hats I don't know how they juggle them.

Some are paid staffers who work horrendous hours and already look exhausted.

Some are senior citizens who are concerned about their social security checks and Medicare.

Some are women who are increasingly worried about incursions on health decisions that were previously kept between them and their physicians.

Some are students who worry about being able to finance a college degree and then find a job afterwards.

Some are small businessmen who are trying to stay afloat in a struggling economy.

Some work for an ever dwindling federal and state government, or for a company that has had layoffs or foreclosures. Most of them worry about not having health insurance anymore.

Some have lost their insurance and are one illness away from bankruptcy and disaster-that is if forgoing medicine hasn't permanently adversely affected their health and just pray that that Obamacare will be in effect in time to help them.

Some have relatives for whom stem cell research might make the difference between life and death.

Some have lost their homes because of unscrupulous banks.

Many remember working on campaigns in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, when relations between the parties was still civil and, despite the wheeling and dealing and pork, things were eventually agreed upon for the benefit of the whole country.

We all worry about the radicalization of the right and their insistence that cutting the budget without raising revenue will solve our economic mess.  We worry about going back to failed policies that almost brought down the nation and the tv and radio idealogues whose only interest is ratings and sensationalism and for whom truth has no relevance.  We are dumbfounded that politicians can repeat blatant lies over and over, get caught out on it and still continue repeating them.

We worry about the crackpot birthers, gun conspiracy theorists, death panel scaremongers, witches, skinheads, barely veiled racism, fundamentalist religious leaders who don't want women to have birth control, control over their bodies, equal pay for equal work or rights.

We see enlightenment happening in other countries in the world and we feel like we are taking giant steps backwards.  We worry about people so ignorant that they are willing to vote against their own interests.

As we all work together, helping  each other, and by going in groups like rock star groupies to hear the President, First Lady, or Vice President speak and come away re-energized to get out and make those few more phone calls, register a few more voters, talk to people about the issues, knock on a few more doors and hope that it will be enough to counteract the tide of the millions of dollars coming from billionaires, some under suspicion for committing illegal acts, who have hidden agendas and surely expect something for the money they are spending trying to buy this election and a more politicized Supreme Court.

Still, we still have the hope and the energy to move forward and tackle one task at a time and pray that we will prevail.
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Yikes! "old people" R Us!

I used to joke about "old people" who sit around and talk about their ailments, doctors and medications. Now I live in the Land of Halt and Lame (aka South Florida), and it seems that my contemporaries are now the new "old people" way before I would have considered myself (and them) as "old". I am participating in an event tomorrow where one of the three issues senior citizens in my town is most concerned about is health care.
In the past few years, I have lost four friends to breast cancer, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a heart attack and the last of unknown causes, but she had been in and out of hospitals just before her death.
Of the four, I think only one had good health insurance, and I am convinced the three of them would still be alive today if they had been insured.
Today, I have a friend who is a breast cancer survivor, another is currently battling cancer, one has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in addition to thyroid and bladder problems, one has very bad knees and carpal tunnel in both wrists, another has fibromyalgia and serious back problems, and I was just informed by my doctor that my bone density test came back and showed advanced osteoporosis and arthritis, so now I, too, must add another doctor, a rheumatologist, to my long list of doctors and probably more medications to another long list.
Is it just that the new "old" is getting younger and younger, or is it something else? I don't remember people my age when I was younger having so many medical problems. Yes, we are a very unhealthy generation with lots of us battling obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure due to bad eating habits, lack of exercise and stress, but there has to be something else contributing to what I am seeing other than better diagnostic tools to identify disease.
I joked with one of my friends today that between the two of us, we didn't have one good working part other than our brains, if I could just remember where I put mine, but even that is no joke. The percentage of seniors who are diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's is growing exponentially. Even tiny Switzerland has more than 100,000 people who have been identified as having dementia. That number is expected to double in the next 20 years. Their solution? They are spending millions of dollars to create a 1950’s style village (Dementiaville), which will house 150 people. Staff will be disguised as gardeners, shopkeepers and hairdressers and the village will contain all the amenities as if it were real.  What do you think? Click and see for yourself!
Dementiaville