First of all, no, I didn't get to shake hands with Gov. Mitt Romney. But I was in the same room as he was, along with the 350 other people at the annual Republican Committee of Chester County fundraiser at the Mendenhall Inn on April 10.
We got there at about 6:30 and saw a bunch of protestors standing along Route 52 holding signs. I recognized a few of them from Quaker events and previous civic disagreements, and I waved. (A friend told me her mother was among them, and she warned her mom that she would NOT post bail were she arrested.)
Finding a parking spot took 15 minutes. The lot is always crowded for the Kennett Symphony Fashion Show Luncheon each autumn, but this was much worse. A state trooper (there were lots of them) told us that the Secret Service had commandeered the entire back parking lot for its own purposes, putting a premium on parking. We spotted Kennett Township Police Chief Albert McCarthy on duty and stopped and said hi to him.
Once we got inside the banquet hall, it was packed full of people in suits. Even though I made a special effort for the evening and put on heels, I felt especially short. We worked our way through the crowd, chatting and shaking hands (I'm not going to name names because I'll miss somebody), managed to get some appetizers and beer and soon enough found ourselves in the ballroom for the speeches.
Sen. Pat Toomey was supposed to give the keynote speech, but the day before the event Gov. Romney signed on to speak. And the very day of the event, Rick Santorum dropped out of the race, leaving Gov. Romney as THE Republican candidate for all intents and purposes. What great timing for us dinner-goers!
As soon as Mitt took the podium everyone who had brought their cell-phone cameras pulled them out and started taking pictures and videos. I wish I could have brought mine, but my outfit didn't have pockets and I didn't bring a purse: I dislike having to tote something extra around when you already have to juggle food, drink and handshakes.
I enjoyed watching the media at work with their cameras and laptops. I saw one reporter interviewing people and taking notes in a long spiral-bound notebook -- I could have told him the short notebooks are much easier to handle. I saw one of the TV cameramen gazing longingly at my bottle of Yuengling.
After Gov. Romney's speech we finished up our chit-chatting and got out onto Route 52 without a problem. Who knows? We could have just seen the next president of the United States.
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