PrintNovember 3, 2009
Lloyd's National Tea Party Express Tour Diary
At the Tea Party Express tour stop in Cheyenne, WY, Smokey, a twenty five year old resident and truck driver apologized for the small (300 people) crowd. Smokey said his mom downloaded the poster and he posted them all over town. He was frustrated that the crowd was not bigger. I told Smokey, he and the organizers did a great job. Cheyenne is a small town. Most folks are working on a Tuesday morning. The extremely enthusiastic crowd was awesome. I thanked Smokey for a job well done. This movement is all about everyone doing what they can no matter how small in their eyes.
Yesterday, we rallied in a rodeo arena in Rapid City, SD. The aroma of animal manure was pretty strong. Our tea party team quickly got use to it and put on another inspiring and fun show for the crowd of 500. It was another town of hard working God fearing decent people concerned about the direction which Obama is leading our country.
After the rally, I met six foot something Norwegian Jim or Joe, I cannot remember. The gentle giant gave me a bear hug and thanked me for what I am doing for our country. He has a wooden leg and is due for a new one. He said, "A new leg costs $20,000. I'm a wood carver. If Obama Care passes, I may have to carve my next leg".
Yesterday was particularly difficult. Eleven people, entertainers, speakers, a photographer and driver are on our bus. Eleven more people, coordinators, speakers and embedded media are on our second bus. We rode for six hours to our Rapid City rally. Afterwards, we rode another six hours to our hotel in Cheyenne, WY. We have been traveling together in very close quarters for over a week with two weeks left on the tour. Nerves and patience grow a little thin. Embarrassingly, I even found myself contributing to the complaining.
This morning on the bus headed to our first rally of the day, I called the team together. "Let's have a gratitude session". Each person took a moment to express what the Tea Party Express tour means to them and why they are grateful to be apart of it. It was incredibly powerful. Each person got a little choked up by the end of their comments.
In a nutshell, we all know we are making a difference, encouraging the people and making history. We are extremely grateful to be a part of it. We got off of the bus and gave one of our most powerful performances.
Lloyd Marcus, Twenty Ten, Take Back America video
