Before the many memories begin to fade, though, I wanted to jot some thoughts down for posterity. You already know many details of this trip, as my daily writings reflected my sunup-to-sundown activities. There are, however, some other stories that can be told...
Saturday, Aug. 23
This travel day held a few interesting revelations. Among them that America's terror watch list can apparently be foiled by a simple name abbreviation. You see, my coworker Chris Johnson, shares a name with someone on that list. Although he said the coincidence has never proven particularly problematic, when we planned our trip, I advised him to get to the airport particularly early in case he needed to explain why he was going to the DNC location. Much to our surprise, however, he triggered no red flags because his ticket was under the name Chris rather than Christopher. So, yeah, that was reassuring.
I also discovered that the Atlanta airport amazingly has a smoking lounge, and that landing in Denver is a pleasant experience, as there was no need for my ears to pop as we set down in the Mile High City. Finally, I learned taxi drivers who serve the Denver airport make a killing, as the facility is located miles and miles outside the city center. I was later told that it's second only to Houston in that distance, thus explaining the $75 taxi fee it took to reach my hotel.Sunday, Aug. 24
My first full day in Denver began with me acquiring my media credentials to cover the event. That process went smoothly and quickly, freeing me up to take the rest of the day at my own pace. I decided to wander around the city's downtown and see whether fate would give me enough material to produce my first Denver datelined story. It did.
I first stumbled across Allida Black, a lesbian and adamant Hillary Clinton delegate, doing an interview with a British television crew. The correspondent, John Irvine, was kind enough to let me listen, thus giving me the first component I needed for my story about gays in Denver. I next wandered over to the Colorado Convention Center. The facility was still being prepped, so there were no gay people I could interview inside, but there were already several protesters outside. Perhaps one or two of them was gay? Yep. And Jan Abbott and Debbie Lane were happy to talk with me. But how to find my last subject? I took a quick rickshaw ride through downtown Denver, saw no promising leads, and eventually asked the driver if he, by chance, was gay or bisexual. No, but he thought there was a lesbian on staff. He told me to call the owner, which I did, and he kindly put me in touch with Monica Tierney.After dinner and a bit of typing, that was that. Day one was done.
Monday, Aug. 25
This unexpectedly busy and productive day began with a trip to the Democratic National Committee's LGBT Americans Caucus meeting, a gathering of the Democratic Party's openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender delegates. Most notable for an appearance by Tim Gill, the wealthy and reclusive gay philanthropist, that meeting rallied the troops and prepared them to undertake an intense campaign to elect Sen. Barack Obama.
I returned to my hotel to type that story before heading to the Pepsi Center to hear Michelle Obama give her primetime speech. That journey, fully documented here, led me to cross paths with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who spoke with me briefly about some of the issues currently on the radar of gay Marylanders. I also got the privilege of being on the convention floor when Sen. Ted Kennedy made a surprise appearance, although my ears are still recovering from the boisterous yells and applause that filled the auditorium when he arrived on stage.As a footnote to all this, I was later told by two people that my face was on CNN at some point during the evening. I don't suppose anyone TiVo'd it? Yeah, I didn't think so.
Tuesday, Aug. 26
A thankfully easier day for me, Tuesday was the day of the LGBT delegates luncheon. Although openly gay U.S. Reps. Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin spoke, they and others were overshadowed by Michelle Obama, who won thunderous applause when she told the crowd that "discrimination has no place in a nation founded on the promise of equality."
I made a quick stop at the specialty media lounge for some free lunch, then used Denver's slick light rail system to return to my hotel room so I could type and deliver my story about Michelle Obama's speech. After that, I provided some support to Chris Johnson, who was running into some challenges as he tried to navigate the Pepsi Center in advance of Sen. Hillary Clinton's primetime speech. Between calls, I transcribed a lengthy interview I had done Monday with LGBT Americans Caucus Chair Rick Stafford. I so rarely type full interviews that I developed a new appreciation for magazines and other media that routinely do this.After completing that task, I hit the sack early, for I knew my Wednesday would again get hectic.
Wednesday, Aug. 27
I woke at 6 a.m. and quickly moved to my laptop to begin work on what would be the Washington Blade's main convention story. I incorporated much of what I had already typed, but included many new quotes and perspectives to help keep things fresh for any Washington readers who had followed my daily online reports.
From there, it was back to the Colorado Convention Center for the second LGBT Americans Caucus meeting. These meetings are not business gatherings so much as they're an opportunity for major speakers to engage a specific crowd, so it came as no surprise when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom took stage. I, along with a handful of other reporters, caught Newsom as he left the room for a few quick questions. I transcribed the result. For the record, my question was the final one asked.With no major news coming from the event, I called back to the Blade offices and gave the OK for them to run the story I had typed that morning. I asked if there was room to shoehorn in a quote from Newsom, but was told we had literally run out of room in the paper. As a result, his quotes and other snippets from the second caucus meeting won't see print until our Sept. 5 edition.
My calendar was empty for the rest of the day, so I decided to see where the bloggers were stationed. I had heard their facility, informally called "The Big Tent," was a sight to behold. I soon learned it was, but for all the wrong reasons. It was nothing like the specialty media lounge that Microsoft had established in the Colorado Convention Center, and struck me as little more than a journalism sweatshop. I decided to opine about it with the hopes that the mistake won't be repeated.
Thursday, Aug. 28
My least busy day also was my most memorable, as it included my meeting with "Star Wars" mastermind George Lucas and press box access for Barack Obama's presidential nomination acceptance speech.
You can read about my security-line meeting with Lucas here, but the real substance of the evening was gathering with hundreds of reporters and 84,000 spectators at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium to hear Obama. I was handed a copy of his speech moments before he took the stage and quickly scanned it for anything specifically relevant to Blade readers. I thus found he would talk briefly about "our gay brothers and sisters" long before the public heard the line delivered near the conclusion of his speech. It was an important and memorable inclusion in his historic speech. It's my hope that Sen. John McCain can say something similar this week during the Republican National Convention.I escaped Mile High Stadium late, caught a bus back to my hotel and (finally) ate dinner before typing some impressions from the evening. And with the filing of that story, my work at the convention was done.
Friday, Aug. 29
I had Friday entirely to myself so I decided to sleep late before taking the bus to Mile High Comics, one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive comic retailers.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but the retailer's web site claimed their mega store was a sight to behold. And I'm sure it was. Before the flood hit. You see, after riding a bus 90 minutes to reach the store, I found the retailer was not where it was supposed to be. It had moved a block south. Befuddled, I went inside and found the store sparsely stocked and workers unpacking boxes. I was told the old store was flooded last month when a water main broke. Although the chaos happened during the day, thus enabling staff to rescue store stock before it was irrevocably damaged, the store's insurance company was slow to respond. Things had only recently been resolved and the store was still setting up shop. Nonetheless, I found a great "Sandman" book I hadn't seen before and bought it as a souvenir.A little disappointed the mega store was decidedly less than mega, I kindly advised the shopkeep to update their web site to reflect their situation and new location, and returned to my hotel.
Unsure what to do with the balance of my day, I was weighing my options as I walked across the hotel parking lot when I spotted a man carrying a hexagonal map. Wondering if there was a gaming convention in town, I decided to follow him inside. I found there was, indeed, a gaming convention in town. And it was in my hotel! Tacticon 2008 was a hefty event geared to people who wanted to play miniature, board or card games. A visitors pass, however, could be obtained for a mere $5. I got one and proceeded to browse the dealers room before grabbing dinner and then checking out the gaming auction. The event was hysterically run by two fantastic auctioneers who pleased the crowd with an extensive array of gaming-oriented jokes. It was like attending an auction inside a comedy club and proved a wonderful way to spend an evening.
The next thing I knew, it was time to pack and get to bed. It was nearly time to return home.
Saturday, Aug. 30
My long-awaited trip home went smoothly once Chris and I got to the airport. The only real snarl was our scheduled ride did not show when scheduled. We gave it 45 minutes before grabbing a cab in desperation. The cabbie, a gracious man who said he was in his 70s, thanked us for the business and noted this had been the best week for him in decades of driving.
Our trip from Denver to Atlanta and Atlanta to Washington was fine, if not a bit bumpy, and got me home earlier than scheduled. So koodos to Delta for that final treat, a welcome end to an exhausting week.
And that, good readers, is the tale of my trip to Denver. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. But for now, I'm going to go relax and enjoy what's left of this holiday weekend.
