Sycamore Pumpkin Festival

As parades go in the fall, no one could ask for as beautiful a day as the one that found John Laesch in Sycamore, Illinois for one of the largest parades in the district. The sun shone down and warmed us while it traced a slow path across the southern sky.

But before the fun could begin, the residents of the 14th District were wondering, could John Laesch get Dennis Hastert to agree to debate the issues facing residents and America? The Iraq War, middle class working people who haven’t had a raise in six years or maybe even a discussion on immigration. One parade watcher yelled out “Ignoring the problems won’t make them go away.” I couldn’t agree more with that person.
John asked Rep. Hastert to debate but was turned down stone cold. I watched them shake hands. Someone rallied the Hastert supporters to quell the question with raised voices. Voices raised so that the status quo may continue. Voices raised to squelch discussion, to shut out the sharing of opinions, to keep issues of importance from the ears of 14th districts residents. Rep. Hastert promptly ignored John from that point on.





Sigh.










John set course for his supporters towards the center of the parade while cheers to keep the status quo rang out like some cracked bell for oblivion. No debate for the People. No discussion. I walked away with a tinnitus to maintain the status quo.


As disappointing as this was to me, the rest of John’s supporters were unfazed. The sun smiled down brightly upon us all. The trees were still full of color even as they stood half bare. On a day so full of promise no disappointment could shatter the good mood. Purple and white was the chosen color of our day.

Slowly we made are way into the crowded streets. Smiles and good humor in abundance were shared both ways. John spends his time shaking hands, maybe talking just a bit, posing for a picture with a resident and moving along. Bands played. Children screamed in glee and excitement as floats passed. Over and over John intones “Hi! I’m John Laesch.” This is a marathon event for the candidate’s voice and everyone's feet.







Some folks called out to John. Many others waved and wished him well. John bounced from one side of the street to the other, a pinball between giant well-wishing bumpers. Our feet ate up ground as John walked, talked, pumped hands and exchanged smiles. After turning only six corners but seeing thousands of people, we found ourselves crowdless. Bands were packing up gear and an interesting trio in papier-mâché heads rambled over to us. The picture speaks volumes that words cannot.



p.s. apologies for taking so long....