This weekend I’m in Nevada to participate fully in our presidential election by helping get out the vote. Why can’t this be done in lovely California, you ask? Well, apparently, there are just too many of us progressive Dems in our fair state and they really need us in the nearest battleground state — Nevada. So here I am.
Don’t fret readers. This isn’t going to be (too!) political a blog. I just want to share some observations from my first day on the ground.
(1) It’s pronounced Nev-AD-uh. Not Ne-VAH-da. This isn’t a dig at Trump who came here on Wednesday and mispronounced it. His camp now says he was joking, but folks in Nev-AD-uh don’t joke about this topic. It was (seriously) part of the Nevada Victory Counsel training I attended last week in California and it was repeatedly stressed at our kick-off canvassing meeting today. Turns out I’ve always pronounced it wrong. Who knew?
(2) Trucks, trucks, trucks. Maybe I’ve just been in the city too long, but they started swerving around me as I was coming down from the Donner pass between California and Nevada and they are just everywhere. I’m sporting a small SUV so I’ve got some game, but these trucks are big and fast and a little intimidating, generally. Is the rodeo in town? Does everyone need to have truck capable of pulling several horses? Apparently so.
(3) I had an enchilada and taco plate for lunch at a place called Lucille’s. It was $6 bucks. That’s like going back in time to a softer, less expensive era. It’s not a meal that is going to change my world, but for $6 bucks I’m awed.
(4) Today, I was wearing the above pictured shirt, and it’s was apparently less subtle than I thought. First thing this morning, a guy at Starbucks called me over saying, “Miss, I’d like to talk to you about your shirt. I’m a Trump supporter but I’m not going to attack you.” Despite that sincere reassurance, I declined to discuss my wardrobe choice with him before I’d even had my first morning cup of coffee. But I do enjoy being called Miss. At what age, officially, do I become Ma’am, one wonders?
(5) I met a ton of really nice people today from the local volunteer driving us around to the folks hosting me overnight to kind people who opened their doors to talk to us about the election. One lady even stopped us in the street to ask how to register to vote. Millennials, that denigrated, ambivalent population seemed really interested and eager to vote. Truly, the experience was very affirming about our people and our country overall.
(6) And the whole day started with an amazing orange and pink sunrise, which bathed these gorgeous mountain ridges in color. It was really startlingly beautiful, making me very happy to be alive. Last night it rained a ton and that, too, was wonderful.
Boonedoggler 