This is a fairly cropped-in shot captured with the Bigger Cahoona from the window of a moving car. Fortunate, because usually in this situation - that of seeing something worthy of a snapshot on the road - the scene has passed me by without getting a chance to even lift the camera into position.
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Yesterday I posted a bit about the political activity that we grew up with in Orange during presidential campaigns. Something much more recent happened, however, that had us involved a little more than we bargained for.
This was just five or six years ago, when the husband of a friend of ours ran for a judge position on the Democrat ticket here in Harris County. We were recruited to distribute yard signs, and attended one or two fund-raising functions. Then, when it came time to campaign to the Asian population, guess who ended up front and center?
They decided to give a speech at the Chinese Community Culture Center, and we showed up at the appointed time to help out. They were getting their equipment in place as people filtered in, and soon enough the room had several hundred Asian-Americans in their chairs waiting for things to happen. Well, nothing could happen until the candidate was properly introduced, and they didn't have anyone slated to do that just yet. Someone saw me there and, having a reputation as an accomplished public speaker in my role as Criminal Justice Planner for the region, decided that I'd be the one for the job. I had about two minutes to get information and gather my thoughts, then was thrust on the stage behind a microphone with attendees ready to listen, all eyes on me. I'm like, What am I doing here - I'm a Republican!
But we do things for our friends, and using the information just gleaned plus what we knew already based on our friendship I managed to do the introduction without attracting too much attention to myself. As an aside to this, the agency I worked for really frowned on public political activity among its employees due to the supposedly apolitical nature of our jobs. With that in mind, I was very glad that the press didn't show up for this one (that I know of).
Thus it was that my inauguration into the political maelstrom was mercifully short, as the candidate lost the election and chose not to run again. I sort of felt for him because he was considered a shoe-in for the position and must have been disappointed, but think we both knew that things happen for a reason, and just the way they're supposed to.
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