From door to door: Canvassing for a Congressional candidate

"This past Saturday morning, the weather in Batavia was threatening ahead of approaching rain and the wind was already shaking the tree branches back and forth. It wasn't as chilly as it looked, but it might've dampened some peoples' spirits."

So begins the journal-style report by Russ Stresing, of Elba, about Saturday's rally in support of Congressional candidate Jon Powers. Stresing's narrative is posted in full at The Albany Project. He writes with an infectious enthusiasm about the invigorated volunteers, battling the chilly wet afternoon to drum up support for their candidate of choice.

There was understandable nervousness among several of the volunteers. For some of them, especially the college and high school students, this would be their first time going out to talk to people they've never met to enlist them in an effort that will likely affect their very future. Its intimidating enough for adults to go door to door in neighborhoods they're not familiar with, but its an even more daunting task for (let's face it) kids who may not even have sold greeting cards to raise money for band or 4H. But, they threw their lot in with the more experienced and outgoing volunteers with the confidence that what they were about to do mattered. Not only to them, but also to the very people they would be meeting on their trek up and down Batavia's streets.

Stresing's narrative is at its best when he gets down to the details you just won't find in a mainstream media report — such as, say, his description of Powers' attire.

The meeting was to have begun at 10:30, and with professional timing, Jon and his staff arrived at 10:10. Casually dressed, down to his well-worn desert combat boots, he greeted people individually, obviously delighted with and appreciative of their help. After expressing his gratitude, he got down to business and laid out the day's plan and attitude.

Stresing goes on to tell the story of the volunteers going door-to-door up and down Batavia streets, nervous, in the rain. It all has such a literary flair, I can't keep from quoting one last bit. For the rest, please check out his post.

Canvassing teams began returning to Main Street Coffee around 1:30, some beating the rains, others returning with wet clothes, but spirits undampened. It was an even more cheery group that gathered at base camp than started out the morning. ... And history shows, they'll keep following through. Nothing determines an American's sense of civil responsibility as much as starting early. And starting well.