Hey, that was a fun cookout today. Kerry in Lexington, MA

[TayTay]

So, I picked up two interns and a visitor from the Other Coast today and headed off to lovely Lexington. Once there, we met up with Noisy Dem and Lueftmensh(name I can't spell. You have to get an easier login, I am too dumb to spell this one, sigh.) LevensonK and her wonderful husband also came so we had quite the group there.

We milled around and talked with people and ate and talked and laughed and had a good time. (Did I mention that these cookouts are fun and loose and a good time?) Ayanna Pressley, Senator Kerry's Political Director for Massachusetts was there and she went around and introduced herself to the guests. We talked to her for a few minutes and said we were some of the 'bloggers' who had met her at the Birthday Party back when, and she said to say hi to one and all here. (So Hi! from Ayanna.)

Here is a pic of the elegant and wonderful Ayanna with 'the boss' just before the Senator spoke.



Ayanna was her usual inpeccable self and looked lovely in a white sun dress and white head scarf. She really is just a 'presence' to be around, very friendly, but she has to aura of competence and just direction around her. Nice, nice woman. (Note to politicasista: PM me.)

The upper right corner shows a gentleman in a white shirt speaking. He was the host for this event and we met at his house. Very, very nice man, lovely backyard for this event. He was a great host.

[TayTay]

1. Just another pic of the Senator and Ayanna

Cuz I like them both. Ayanna filling in the Senator on who was there in terms of local elected officials, what was going on and the mood. That is her job, I think, as Political Director for the State, to be aware of what goes on in this great Commonwealth and relate it to Kerry. She is very good at her job.



I didn't mean to cut off the pic of Mr. Brooke, the host of the event, but there was a person to my right who basically got in all the pics and I had to crop him out. Sorry.

[Vektor]

23. And another pic of the Senator:

I can see the back of my head in Tay's pic - the smallish blonde person on the far right of the shot. The lady next to me kept elbowing me.

*Grrrr*

[TayTay]

2. There were a few introductory remarks from others

including the Host, Mr. Brook who said that the deck behind him was just a pile of lumber six days ago. Apparently, hosting a US Senator at a cookout has a marvelous way of getting you to get the contractors to finish up their work. Where once was naught but lumber, there was now a lovely deck.

Kathleen Clark, co-chair with Senator Kerry's brother Cam of Mass Victory '06 arrived late and didn't get to deliver any remarks. Kathie talked about the Mass effort to elect a Dem Gov and thanked the Senator for coming and so forth. (Kathie is great.)

Senator Kerry was introduced and had some great opening remarks.

[TayTay]

3. Kerry gave a 'stump speech'

The owners of this property were doing some renovations and they had recently cut down a tree to make way for something else. So there was still a tree trunk there in the yard. This is what Kerry stood on to make his remarks. He said that in all his years in public office, he had never given a genuine 'stump speech' on a real, honest-to-God tree stump, so this was a first. LOL!



The Senator also said that he is available for parties if you need motivation to get contractors to finish their work. If you ever need to really get something done in the way of a home improvement, just schedule a party, that will wonderfully focus the mind on what needs doing.

The first part of the speech was really laid back and fun. Kerry just talked about the weather, the hosts and how nice they have been to him in the past, how good it was to see a nice turnout for this event and so forth. Kerry noted the Globe story yesterday that carried Mass Gov (R) Romney's remarks on Iraq and Kerry hust said how wrong Romney was and how deluded he was on Iraq. Romney doesn't know what he's talking about and his 'stay the course' rhetoric was just simplistic and wrong.

[ProSense]

7. LOL! n/t

[Democrafty]

13. That is, like, on the list of the top 1 raddest things I have ever seen.

Seriously, I can barely look at that picture for the awesomeness.

[TayTay]

4. Kerry talked about the stupid 'Dems have no idears'

thing that gets on TV. He specifically talked about the know-nothings on cable TV, like O'Reilly, Hannity and others who constantly belittle the Dems by saying they have nothing to offer. Kerry went through the list of things that the Repubs had done wrong and said that we don't want those idears. (Oh, and it was idears all the way, not ideas today.) Kerry then went through his list of things he says the Dems want to do, starting out with 'telling the truth to the American people and telling it all the time.'

The Senator again went through the reasons that we in Mass need to elect a Dem Gov, because that will help in a national tidal wave of Democratic officials being elected and how much that means for the country.

[TayTay]

5. To wrap up: Last pic and post

Senator Kerry wrapped up apologizing for having to leave right after his speech. He said he had to get to the airport and Senators or Congressmen have no special privileges when it comes to getting through security.

Kerry said that he had been on a flight the day before and had a conversation with the security bag checker something like this:

Security Guy: "Ah, Mr. President, good to see, you I voted for you, you should have been President, you'd be so much better than the guy that's in there now. I gotta confiscate your toothpaste, sorry sir. Gee, hope you run again."

LOL! That was funny.



IT was a great, albeit short, appearance. The Senator departed and we DU JK people stayed and talked awhile and then also left. It was a fun appearance for a very, very good cause.

[ProSense]

6. Thanks for the pics and the report.

Glad to hear it went well, obviously a beautiful day, still envious! :)

[Island Blue]

8. Great photos and commentary Tay.

Especially love the last photo with his hand on his heart - I just love it when he does that. How many people would you say attended? Did he mingle? Thanks for posting.

[TayTay]

9. I believe that 'hand on heart' pic was for his 'idears'

on what to do to get the country moving again. Yeah, I like it when he does that as well.

There were over 100 there, maybe as many as 125. This is not bad turnout for a backyard cookout. They only told the host of this event it was happening, and at his house, six days ago. Ahm, it's the middle of August, they had a great turnout.

The other nice thing was that it was a mixed crowd. The hosts were African-American and a goodish number of the guests were AA as well. This was a great crowd, very friendly, and people introduced themselves freely. I had a number of conversations with lots of new people I hadn 't seen before. That was great.

[globalvillage]

10. Thank you, Tay.

That was a wondeful report.
A real honest to God stump speech. LOL. Sounds like a fabulous time. Did he say anything about what we can do about the media problems? What did you eat? Was Teresa there? I guess if they took the Senator's toothpaste, I'd better put mine in checked luggage. He didn't mention a brand, did he? He's got really great teeth.
:D
Love your pics. Thanks for sharing.

[TayTay]

15. Yeah, an honest-to-God Stump Speech LOL!

We have to keep telling the truth and keep talking about the idears that Democrats have. The media is reading off the Republican script and Sen. Kerry said they just make stuff up and tell things as they see them, not as they are. It is a real problem and it's very hard to get the Dems actual positions across. (BTW, it really was 'idears' all the way. There was a post here a while back that lamented the fact that the good Senator had said 'ideas.' The lost, lamented 'R' was back where it belonged today, at the end of the words that end in an 'a' sound. Just so you know.)

That part about confiscating the toothpaste was really funny. Kerry did a great impression of the security guard praising him to the high heavens, calling him Mr. President, saying how wonderful he was, then taking his unnamed brand of toothpaste away. It was great. It is a sobering thought that even Senators with 22 years of experience in DC have to give way to TSA security at the airports.

Kerry was great today. I was not a formal occasion at all and he was among friends and like-minded souls. So it was very laid-back and fun. You would have loved it. He had mingled with the crowd on the opposite side of the yard from where I was before the speech, so we didn't talk at all, then he had to leave to get to the airport. I believe that some interns or so spoke with him after the speech, but that report is for them to make.

[globalvillage]

16. I'm so glad the Senator hasn't lost his 'r'.

He had me worried there for a bit. 'Idea' just doesn't seem quite correct.
Can't wait to hear from the interns. I'm guessing they're a bit sad to see this summer nearing an end, but what a great experience!
Thank you again for the report, it was excellent. Got to go pack my !@*$&%%@@! toothpaste for Chicago. I'm hoping to keep my sense of humor through security. I guess if Sen Kerry can take it in stride, I can too.
Hope to see you and the Mass gang (and your Senator) soon.

[politicasista]

11. Thanks for the story and pics TayTay!

Check your pm. :hi:

[babylonsister]

12. I'm officially jealous, Tay Tay. Thanks for the recap; it looks like

you had a spectacular day! And one day I too might get to be in the presence of greatness, yours and Senator Kerry's, and those brilliant interns!

[TayTay]

17. And I hope to meet you too one day!

I hope that my words and pics do some justice to a fun event. There were others there as well and their views and opinions on what happened are usually a bit different from mine. They will check in and fill in things I have forgotten. It was great seeing them too and I am deeply sorry I didn't get to say Hi! to Cadmium. I enjoyed meeting 'em at the July 31st speech.

Ahm, am I all spoiled now from seeing a lot of Kerry appearances lately? That usually shows in the writing, so let me know if I am 'slipping' in my reporting. I hope it does come out that Kerry cares a lot about this coming Mass Governor's race, about the national races for Congress and about trying to get the media to actually report what the Dems are actually saying. But he was also light and loose today, as befits a backyard cookout, so I hope that came across as well. It was a fun day, made all the better by seeing folks from this forum. (And silly interns, whom I will miss when they leave.)

[beachmom]

14. Great report and pics, Tay Tay!

I think the toothpaste story is a keeper, as well as the "Stump Speech". It doesn't get more down to earth than a cookout, does it? Thanks for reporting back so fast!

[sandnsea]

18. Great pics, great recap - Thanks!

Sounds like a great time and it is always great to hear about folks who recognize the real President! The stump speech was pretty funny too, I can just imagine him getting a real kick out of that. I guess vicarious Kerry sitings is the best I'm going to get for a while.

[TayTay]

19. Yeah, the Senator was deeply amused at the tree stump to stand on

and asked if he could take it with him. You never know it could come in handy in New Hampshire or Iowa or just out in Mass. (LOL indeed!)

BTW, he sort of teased the crowd about his plans after the midterms this year. That was also fun.

[Blaukraut]

20. Great recap, TayTay!

You left nothing out - not to worry :-)
It really was a very nice, relaxed speech. JK managed to hit a good amount of points despite being on a tight schedule. He didn't seem rushed at all, and looked like he was enjoying his stump. Maybe the hosts can send it along with him when he speaks elsewhere. lol
I'm glad he touched on the importance of getting Democratic governors and secretaries of state in office, to ensure that our votes are counted. Lets hope Mass. (and other states!) take his advice!

[kerrygoddess]

24. Post on the Dem Daily

LevensonK sent a post on the cookout to the Dem Daily - It was posted early in the AM - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=3893

[TayTay]

25. Excellent.

She was there at the cookout as well. It is wonderful that we have the people to cover these stories, even when some of us get 'overbooked.' :blush:

Nice story. I recommend reading something that isn't from me in order to get a different perspective on what happened. LevensonK is a fine writer and a great observer. In the past, she has picked up things I missed, so I look forward to reading this.

[Blaukraut]

26. Thanks for putting that up, kg

Now that I signed up with DD, I can save you the work and start posting directly. :-)

[kerrygoddess]

27. Absolutely!

I've recently added a couple of new writers who are Kerry supporters as well. We need to keep building on the network of blogs and bloggers for Kerry! I'm always happy to have more voices there so if anyone else wants to post let me know.

[fedupinBushcountry]

21. Thanks for the report

and great pics. I cracked up at the stump and the story about the guy at the airport. Imagine that just a normal guy calling him Mr. President and then saying he should run again,just makes me want to smile. :-)

[karynnj]

22. Those were great stories

The entire thing sounds like great fun. It is interesting that they are instructed not to make exceptions for members of Congress on these restrictions. I had never even thought of where the "stump" in stump speech came from - but this is so authentic.

It's amazing that he could both be so casual and make the points he did. Tay's pictures and description are fantastic. It looks likes a beautiful day.