Honoring the great Dems we lost this year

[gardenista]

My mom. She has probably registered over 10,000 Democrats over the last fifty years. I did the math, it might be far more.

She reveled in spotting fake names/addresses/registrations on bogus repuke petitions.

Worked the polls every single election day, until moving to CA, where that doesn't seem to happen...

Spent hours and hours on the phone bringing home her precinct, and taught us kids to knock on doors, deliver flyers, and work a crowd at hometown picnics and parades.

Was the brains behind many a successful campaign, and some of those Dems are still in office today.

Here is to my mom, whom I hope is tipping a glass with Ted Kennedy. I love ya Mom, and we miss you more than we can ever say. We honor your memory and keep up the good fight.

Not only was she a great Democrat, she made a mean meatloaf, helped her friends when they were in trouble (took in a friend with eight kids who was fighting cancer), she was funny as hell, and absolutely gorgeous.

Here's to you, Kathrine Margrethe Gough.

[jobycom]

1. Adios to dear Jennifer Gale.

She was a transgender homeless Austinite who frequently ran for public office. An advocate for the homeless, and for GLBT rights, she was a fixture at city council meetings, and was known to serenade the council out of the blue.

Last year she sang "I'll be homo for Christmas" to the City Council, and declared 2009 the "Hug a Homo" year, declaring it was a great time for :a heterosexual to hug a homosexual." Then she announced her intentions to run for Mayor in 2009, and paid tribute to the number of homeless people who had died on the streets of Austin. Tragically, weeks later, she herself was found dead on the streets, a combination of heart disease, poor medical care, and bitter cold.

I met her a couple of times, and had friends who were close to her. At one event, I had received a fairly public beating, and afterwards was walking away with my head low, feeling sorry and miserable. I got on an elevator, and Jennifer stepped on behind me. She didn't know me, but she asked how I was. "Rough day," I said. "Did you do your best?" she asked. I thought about it and smiled. "Yeah, I did." "Then feel good about it," she said, with her cheerful smile. She had a way of making people feel good, even though she herself was often very sad.

So long, Jennifer. We all thought you were funny, but those of us who met you never thought of you as a joke. RIP.

(Just realized she died around Christmas of 08, but close enough. She deserves a tribute.)

[gardenista]

5. She sounds remarkable

And if she was able to have such a lasting impact with you personally from such a brief encounter in an elevator, there must be thousands of others who have had similar experiences.

People like Jennifer give our world color and life. "I'll be homo for Christmas!" Love it.

Here's to you, Jennifer!

[jobycom]

9. Thanks. Yeah she was very cool.

She left that impact for more than the one encounter, though. I was into politics then, and knew a lot of people who knew her pretty well, plus she was a public figure. I wish I had known her better.

[Aristus]

2. Well, my Dad wasn't a great Dem. He yo-yo'ed back and forth between the Dems and the pukes

for years. Seemingly rational during the Clinton years, after September 11th, he went off the deep end, calmly explaining why racial profiling of Arabs was the only way to keep the country safe.

Eventually, the incompetence and insanity of the Bush regime got to be too much for him, and he came back from the dark side.

He cast his last vote ever for Barack Obama, and died a Dem this last May.

Thanks, Dad.

[gardenista]

3. Handsome guy.

Glad he came back in the end. Fear motivates people to do and think irrationally.

Here's to your dad!

[Aristus]

4. I don't know so much that it was fear. It was probably insecurity. Dad possessed insecurities

all out of proportion to his talents and abilities. Consequences of a rotten upbringing. No matter how much he accomplished, or how much he was admired and respected, there's a part of me that thinks he never believed his acclaim. Tragic. I think truly happy moments were a rarity in his life...

Thanks for your kind words, gardenista! :-)

[gardenista]

6. I can see that...

I know what you're talking about, and now that my mom is gone (she was far from perfect, but no one could question her Democratic cred, esp. since she was raised by racist repubs and converted herself.)

.You probably brought him some of those happy moments, though..

:hug:

[tabbycat31]

7. your mom sounds like she was amazing

I'm sorry for your loss this year, and I will honor her.

She's the type of person (politically) who I would like to become.

[gardenista]

11. She made a lot of sacrifices, and got little credit

And certainly suffered her share of disappointments with the results of her efforts, esp. when people she helped put in office let her down.

But she never gave up and never walked away.

And how she did it all raising four kids, I have no idea.

We all miss her so much, but she inspired a lot of younger people to follow in her footsteps, and I guess she continues to do so.

;-)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. she sounds like a lovely woman!

:hug:

[gardenista]

12. Thanks, she was.

:hug:

We didn't agree on everything, even in politics, but she was good people. I'm just glad she got to live to see Obama take office.

(she was a Hillary fan, BTW, but came around near the end.)

[joeybee12]

10. A toast to her!

:toast:

[gardenista]

13. And to you and all of yours!

:toast: