When I say, “I’m heading to Chicago for the future,” I mean I am going there this week to bask in all the great vibes, the mood enhancement, and the joyfulness everywhere.
In fact, as you read this, I will be midway to Midway Airport.
Although I will only be there for half of the whole show, the last two nights of the Democratic National Convention should bring the house down if Monday night’s barn burner is any indication. At the same time, I do hope James Taylor gets to perform before the week is over!
“…But it became clear, as the evening unfolded, that there wouldn’t be time for our “You’ve Got a Friend” with cello and voices. Maybe the organizers couldn’t anticipate the wild response from the floor of the United Center… “#JT #JamesTaylor #DNC #DNC2024 pic.twitter.com/B6LG7yxXaX
— James Taylor (@JamesTaylor_com) August 20, 2024
In any event, when a politically well-connected friend told me in July she was not sure if she was going to the convention, Biden was still the nominee. And my friend—let’s call her Rosa—still needed to drop off her daughter at college in mid-August.
Rosa and I go all the way back to high school. We also went to the same college, where we were roommates junior and senior year. She majored in political science, like so many people who attend college in the nation’s capital.
We recently saw each other when Rosa and her husband sailed from Martha’s Vineyard to Nantucket. In other words, their Vineyard vacation day trip led directly to our hatching a tentative plan to meet at the DNC.
At the same time, I made my own contingency plan and applied to become one of the DNC’s virtual content creators. Taking the job seriously, even as I barely understand it, I am now privy to a bunch of gallery content, which is where assets like the image above and this one come from:
Needless to say, I hope the big “D” Democratic energy right now translates to an Election Night blowout. Plus, August is Civic Health Month, and there is so much to do.
The next 70 days are all about the future. I know readers of The Berkshire Edge are civically engaged in so many concrete ways, and for this I say “thank you.”
Until next week, remember: The future is now.
