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I was fortunate enough to grow up around one of the oldest, and one of the most historic towns in the United States. A town that has a played an important part of this country's birth
This little town on the Rappahanock River began as a fort in 1671, was established as a port in 1728, and has grown today to the biggest, most modernized " small towns " between Richmond and Washington D.C.
Fredericksburg has produced such great men as George Washington, Hugh Mercer, George Weedon, John Paul Jones, and James Monroe.
We have had a few celebrities also, like baseball star Al Bumbry and Mets pitcher John Maine.
Olympic gold medal winners Jeff Rouse and Mark Lenzi.
The Denver Bronco's football player George Coghill, and we have even had a hollywood type from the area, Judge Reinhold.
Well today, I got up at 5 AM to shower and dress, and get my 4 year old ready to go stand in line to see a real star come to town
Yeah, that's right, Sarah Palin came to town today to speak to our town. I was fortunate enough to get to sit in the VIP section behind the stage and had a great view of the show
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Today I will not tell you any horror stories of Obama, and I will not discuss how bad our lives would be under a complete democratic rule.
I want to tell you about the people that got to the event on Sunday night, and waited for the gates to open at 9 AM to get a spot to witness Palins arrival at 1 PM. The people young and old, black and white, the government workers who took a sick day, the stay at home mom's who let their kid's skip school to be there, the veterans, the farmers, and anyone else who believe that John McCain and Sarah Palin are the best choice to lead our nation for the next four years and beyond.
I overheard many discussions while I sat there with my mom and son, and the most powerful conversation I heard was one between a wounded soldier that drove down from Walter Reid Hospital in D.C. and a WW2 vet that was sitting next to me. They spoke of battles they fought, and injuries they suffered, and I heard both talk of the purple hearts they had received.
What got me the most was when the old guy told the young vet " You know, I hurt in a lot of places, and there was a lot of things I could not do when I got out of that military hospital, but the thing that hurt me the most is that I had to stop fighting, I could not give anymore. " The young guy said " What hurts me the most is that this Obama guy wants what I did, and what I fought for, to be for nothing. "
They hugged and when the young guy got up to walk away, I shook his hand and said thanks, and patted the old guy on the back and told him thanks too.
Even after all the Joe the Plumber talk, and hearing all the views on socialism, and gun bans, and freedom of speech, those two guy's had me rattled all afternoon
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Before I end my post, I want to tell you something else I saw today. The weather was not being nice to all of us that attended the Palin speech today. It was about 53 degrees and breezy, and a cold drizzle started in on us.
I watched as Sarah Palin continued to talk as some of the crowd and the people on the stage were looking for cover. It was cold and wet but no one wanted to abandon their post for Palin, it seemed far more important to brave the cold.
She looked around, and I saw the rain dripping from her glasses, and she said that " you know, this weather makes me feel at home ". I do not know why, but the fact that she continued her talk, and the fact that the crowd stayed and listened and cheered for her showed me true commitment.
The hometown folks that are committed to McCain / Palin and their stand on changing Washington, and Sarah Palin who spoke to us in the wind, and rain, and cold to let us know that she can do what it takes, no matter what, to put this country on the right track.
That's not something an " elitist " would do, she is one of us