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Adventures in Activism, Motherhood, and Marriage
By Melinda Pillsbury-Foster (about the author) Page 2 of 3 page(s)
As the mother of five children at the time I had made sure that all of them encountered the concept of working in organizations and Community Charity Work early on. My son Arthur had gone through scouting and joined DeMolay. My daughters, Dawn and Ayn, had been girl scouts and were now very active in The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. That is, like DeMolay, a Masonic sponsored group. I liked it because, unlike Debs, it lets the girls take responsibility for projects so they learn organizing. One downside was the need for more formals than anyone can imagine.
Ordinary meetings for Rainbow take place with all the girls dressed up like a prom held in the 40s, though no scandalous low necklines or hems that do not touch the floor are allowed, naturally. They looked adorable. But my native thrift had driven me to make all of their dresses, not just to save money there but because of the dry cleaning bills.
Dry cleaning a formal can cost as much as the formal did in the first place. By making them myself I found I could pay slightly more for material and get dresses that lasted longer and could be tossed in the washing machine. In fact, Dawn's Worthy Advisor dress was embossed, beaded with seed pearls and so complex that it staggered the observer. But it washed beautifully turned inside out. It also went into the dryer. I set every stitch myself.
You are probably wondering what this had to do with a Libertarian Convention in Chicago.
Well, there was that requirement for an audience to demonstrate that a performance of the Song Craig wanted performed, Thomas Jefferson, would rock them off their seats.
Craig had heard Thomas Jefferson performed by the man who wrote it, Dean Ahmad, at a Libertarian event that took place in Boston in 1976 on April 13th, Thomas Jefferson's birthday. Dean wrote it in Jefferson's honor that morning, performing it at the event that night. Craig wanted the song so much he wrote his own version and one about Patrick Henry, too. The Henry song was so long that Homer might have been jealous. It also lacked the passion and beauty that Dean is able to get into his work. So the song Craig wanted performed was Thomas Jefferson. All the kids knew it by heart, having heard it continuously.
Tastes differ. What group could I get to be the enthusiastic audience required by The Convention Committee? I was not sure that was possible to rock anyone but getting people to sit still long enough meant I needed a group of real people.
This story could actually take us into the recall campaign in 1992 for David Roberti, and sometime I may tell you about that. But what you need to know is that I had joined The Order of Eastern Star, another Masonic group for women, so I could attend the otherwise closed meetings of my daughters' Rainbow Chapter. I had there met the human dynamo, Dolores White, who would successfully run the Roberti recall, although at the time she was not interested in politics. That was my fault.
Dolores was a trustee for the Eastern Star Retirement Home in West Los Angeles. I had visited the place with her. It was a gorgeous facility in a kind of Moroccan Spanish style with a room that was perfect for performances and would hold a couple of hundred people. It occurred to me that these ladies did not get much entertainment and were too polite to leave an ongoing performance, even if they could walk. Perfect.
The singer I found had a gorgeous voice. She was also a former Worth Advisor from the girl's Rainbow Chapter who would work incredibly cheap since the idea of getting paid to sing was astonishing. Rainbow requires music. It is always donated.
I made the dresses in the very appropriate colors of Red, White, and Blue. I borrowed the camera from Jerry Corbetta, the songwriter who actually wrote, "Green Eyed Lady," and played with Sugar Loaf and the Four Seasons. Jerry had become a friend after we went through a natural childbirth class together. He was sort of interested in politics and I persuaded him to produce the song we did the next year for the Perot Campaign titled, "The H. Ross Cannonball." I got a credit because I blew the train whistle. Jerry now tours with Greats of Rock and Roll. Very nice guy.
So, camera, me to run it, singers, programs for the event, a light buffet for the ladies transported in my Tupperware containers and produced at home for $18.00. Craig to play his guitar and a lovely afternoon event is taped. The ladies were a little confused about what had happened. They thought we were another family singing group and were missing a few members, but they had a good time.
The video tape went off immediately.
Vicky, our singer, had just turned 20. We also took my daughter, Dawn, who was then still in high school and 17. Dawn was the most interested in Libertarianism. At that point in time the rest of the kids avoided Libertarians.
Chicago was hot, hot, hot. I did not expect that to matter since when at a Libertarian Convention you never leave the hotel. It did sort of make me sad to see how happy Craig was. I knew what was about to happen but had made up literature for him to sell his tapes anyway. His eyes had gleamed with delight, the promise of Super Rock Stardom about to be realized.
The happy mood lasted through to Saturday morning. They had let him perform for the cocktail party although it was noisy and no one much listened except me.
He came back to our room staggering like someone had hit him across the head with a two by four to tell me, obviously stunned, that they had decided the performance could not go on with C-Span live. Maybe sometime when the convention hall was vacant perhaps?
At a moment like that there are so many things you can say. I didn't. Instead I said,
"Congratulations, you are running for President."
Eventually we settled for Vice President.
http://howtheneoconsstolefreedom.blogspot.com
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