Door knocking for GOTV

Two days of door knocking down, two to go. The contrasts were sharp for us this weekend. On Saturday our family was sent off to a neighborhood in St. Paul that includes part of historic Summit Avenue. The streets whose doors we were knocking on included some really large and grand old homes, with beautifully landscaped front lawns, and carefully kept side and backyards.

Today we were in east St. Paul, near Prosperity Heights. I can't say that I had as heart warming an experience as this canvasser, but it was pretty fun and even energizing to be walking up to houses I probably would not ordinarily have any reason to go near -- these were ramshackle, often crumbling small homes, surrounded by other homes for sale up and down the block -- and having people smile once they cracked their door open far enough to hear why I was there. This was a very diverse neighborhood, and several times there were young children translating for their elders who clearly couldn't speak English. We were doing a "reverse door knock" -- which meant that we were skipping any homes which had been identified as McCain voters -- so almost everyone I talked with was excited about Obama and eager to vote.

I've been full of anxiety the last couple days, as the election draws near. Being out in the fall sunshine, doing something useful, really helped me calm down. Try it, you'll like it!