Mystery Ride
Headed to NYC for an Undisclosed Mission
To hear the related 5-minute audio file that I uploaded today as my Morning Journal flash briefing for Alexa devices, please click on the play button:
Loving Lewiston
I am traveling backwards on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional 93 train toward Penn Station this morning. I won’t be able to disclose why until Wednesday’s Morning Journal.
What I can tell you about is a terrific time Darlene and I had yesterday in Lewiston, Maine.
We checked in at the campaign office of Congressman Jared Golden on Main Street to pick up canvassing materials—a clipboard, map, buttons, and an app for my iPhone. Jared is a moderate Democrat in a tough reelection race for his third term representing Maine’s very red 2nd District.
Of the 49 doors we knocked on, only 12 resulted in conversations with voters. Of those, eight were strong for our guy, two were strong for his opponent, and two were undecided.
Those two undecided folk made the trip worthwhile. What if our brief, friendly conversations with them made the difference?
A surprise bonus came toward the end of our canvassing, when I received a text from my grandson James, who is a freshman at Bates College. We thought he was away on break, but it turned out he was available for a late lunch at an upscale Italian eatery in a renovated textile mill.
For an hour James regaled us with his experiences so far with the Bates debating society, which was founded in 1855. The team had returned late Saturday night from a competition at Harvard. Their website is impressive:
Among many firsts, we participated in the first intercollegiate debate in 1896 and the first international collegiate debate in 1908. Today, as one of the world’s premier debating societies, we compete domestically against other teams in the American Parliamentary Debate Association, and participate in a number of international debating events, such as the World Universities Debating Championships. Committed to inclusivity, we always welcome new debaters to our program – many of our best debaters learned how to debate at Bates!
My grandson has impressed me with his debating skills for nearly as long as he’s been able to walk. It makes me smile to know he is learning the finer points as part of the storied Brooks Quimby Debate Council.
Congressman Golden graduated from Bates 13 years ago. I can find no evidence that he was a member of the debate team.
The next time James rebuts one of my wobbly positions, I plan to interject a term he taught us over lunch:
Point of Information!