Chapter 35
Skip Finds What He’s Looking For??
Daphne, Alabama, lies east of New Orleans, across Mobile Bay. Traveling the last miles east on U.S. Route 98, Skip thought he sensed a subdued, almost brooding, vibe. Were folks starting to get burned out? The weather wasn’t helping. The skies again overcast, brooding even. And the temperature only in the 40s. Way too cold for what they expected for the deep south. Sally and Jack were trying to sleep in the Land Yacht. Max was now driving Jack’s Rover with Steve navigating. Huck was still in Lafayette with Peaches and Sunshine, and Big Sam.
Seeing Sally and Jack starting to stir, Skip decided to broach how people were feeling: “Get out the list, will ya Sally? If we want to shorten the voyage, maybe there’s folks, not expecting us, we can just skip. I’d like to still make New York. And have we given up on the Rumpkins organizing idea altogether?”
“Well, not exactly,” Jack said, surprising Skip. “Patty was telling me how disappointed you were and she enlisted her friend Bonnie, here in Daphne, to aid us in pulling together one last effort. I’ve been talking with Jesse, back in Portland, and he’s got something ready to go. Bonnie’s been clued in. We were hoping to surprise you. Let’s see what happens.”
Patty was upbeat too, “Yeah, Bonnie claims I saved her life – so she said she’d do anything for me, and we can stay an entire week. And, this should brighten your day, Skip. Those Texas guys we met at the Phoenix RV park while you were still in L.A.? Well, they’ve really fallen for us, throwing zingers our way, but I think they’re being friendly. Just this morning on their Facebook page, ‘Top Ten Reasons the Rumpkins Should Not Run the Country? #10: They don’t know how to change a spark plug.’ They’re probably dreaming up #9 as we speak. Can’t imagine what they’ll say for #1. Rocky, join the internet age, get on Facebook, and start zinging back.”
Rocky tried being upbeat as well, “Look Scotch, I’ve known you forever. Quit brooding about everything. You’re still my favorite politician and everyone back in Minnesota loves you whether this Rumpkins thing pulls off or not. Just have fun with it. How ‘bout I start our rump session with a riddle: ‘Who knows the name of the first Billionaire in American history who moved into public housing previously occupied by a Black family and is now off to jail.’ ”
Patty ended the conversation for the moment promising, “It’s in the movie, no matter what.”
Rocky thought, “Christ, Patty, if you only knew . . . ”
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Patty’s friend in Daphne, Alabama, named Bonnie, was a run-away Patty had met years before at the Greyhound Bus Station in Minneapolis. Bonnie was 16 at the time. Bonnie ended up crashing on Patty’s couch while she tried to figure her life out. After a couple weeks, and many phone calls home – sometimes with Patty on the line too – Bonnie went back home on the next Greyhound with new rules on what home would be like. Bonnie’s mom and dad were forever grateful and invited Patty to visit if she ever was down Alabama-way. Patty did make it to Bonnie’s once before, and had stayed in touch over the years. Bonnie now had teenagers of her own and was looking forward to our visit.
When we arrived that Sunday afternoon, the whole family was there to greet us, “No problem you guys, the backyard is yours as long as you want,” Bonnie said, pointing to a backyard stretching maybe a football field to Mobile Bay, with a boat dock too. The skies had started to clear. We set up tents. Max and Sally went fishing. Bonnie made a spaghetti supper for all, her mom and dad too.
Bonnie’s mom said, “Nobody in our family is too political, but Bonnie has been showing me your blog and it’s great you’re giving young people some hope – it looks like you’re having loads of fun.”
Bonnie told us that Jesse in Portland was ready to skype with us as soon as we were settled in. Sally and Jack announced (to Skip’s surprise) that Jesse had posted a notice on <rumpkins.com> that we were holding a “Rump Session” on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m. CST. Patty thanked Bonnie for all the hospitality, ending “. . . and that maybe we can stay here the whole week? Wow!”
[Well, shit, Skip thought, I can’t tell them what’s going on with me – what the heck am I going to do this whole week – pretend I’m into this?]
By Tuesday morning the temperatures had climbed back into the 70s, and the skies were not cloudy. During breakfast, Max reported that Eloise, Susie, Gregory and maybe others back in Boulder were set to join the Rump Session. Jack said the California Pirate Party was hoping for a crowd at its headquarters Friday night to be part of the session. Patty said we had lots and lots of people from all over following us, “I just don’t know if they’re into politics, but you know who’s going to be watching for sure, Tex and Austin.”
“Oh good,’ Rocky said, behind his aviator glasses, “I’ll get working on my zinger for those two.”
[Whoa, Skip couldn’t believe all this was going on without him knowing about it – and it seemed like they were all doing this just for him.]
Also on Tuesday, skyping with Jesse back in Portland, Jesse told us all his good news: “This could be the start of something big,” he said. “I’ve been working with the Yang Gang here in Portland. Us local Pirates have pretty much tossed in with them. They’re actually WINNING some elections. Not just Eloise’s in Boulder, but also Forward Party candidates won local races in San Ramon, California and Salt Lake City, and some of the races they lost were actually close.
“I got Eloise to reach out to her fellow Forwarders, and yep, folks from some of the other campaigns are planning to participate in our Rump Session – a combination victory party and strategy session. Best news of all, Andy Yang called Eloise back, and has taken to social media encouraging his followers to check out the session as a way to talk strategies for the next election cycle!”
[Holy Christ, Skip thought, this could take off!]
Even more amazing, unbeknownst to Skip, Rocky had been in touch with Skip’s third-party organizer friend in Minnesota, Curt Driscoll, the Chair of the Minnesota Libertarian Party, and Curt agreed to get a reporter friend of his at the StarTribune to do a story about how some hometown folks were stirring up political trouble across the country, across the political divide. The reporter agreed to come to Curt’s house and watch the livestream of the “Rump Session.” Maybe the best way to describe the launch of this united third-party effort through “rump organizing” is to read the story that appeared in the StarTribune’s next day addition. It’s set forth in full as the next chapter, along with Skip’s reaction to it