Day 74 (Sunday 9/2/12)- Boulder, CO + Denver, CO

　
On Tuesday we got to watch Obama speak at Colorado State on live TV, next to the event, in the safety of the library. Today we got tickets. Today I got in. Today neither of us still has seen him.

That President Obama would be making a stop at CU was announced on Wednesday. It is amazing how quickly things can be organized to accommodate Norlin Quad where the speech was to be held we randomly ran into Kurt who happened to be waiting for a friend outside Starbuck's. For Kurt it was really random, as he had no idea we were coming back into town. He shouldn't have been so surprised as he has mocked our navigational style as, to be tactful, inefficient. I think Kurt actually said something more along the lines of "erratic."

We camped outside of the media entrance until about 20 minutes before the President was to speak when a staffer came out and gave us tickets. Both lucky and not. We had not planned on actually being able to get in so we had brought a laptop, water, food, etc. all of which were not allowed. Isaiah the hero ran all this back to the car but with the distance, weight and heat it was not easy. We had parked over half an hour a way, Isaiah did it in half that, but took five minutes too long. They had just stopped allowing people inside, so he was trapped along the fence line. (I've got some complaints about security. I seemed to run into police of all types and jurisdictions, including a Secret Service guy who looked straight out of the movies and they must all have some sort of affirmative action policy for mute hirees. Now I understand they need to look tough and they looked tough, but they all were under the impression it was a national security risk to talk to me, to tell me that they were no longer letting people in. Anyone, anywhere. They would just shake their heads negatively. I would move five feet to the side, again hold up my ticket and they would scowl. Once I must have really done something wrong, because one stuck up his palm, indicating for me, I guess, to stop. He might have been trying to give me a high five, but I left him hangin'. I might have been arrested. I would have finally gotten them to speak though, if only to issue me my Miranda Rights). I did manage a few unobstructed and distant glimpses of Obama and heard the first part of his speech, but the disappointment of Isaiah not getting in was too much and I went out to sit with him. (I could only hear the echo of a famous voice, not actual words. Though I could hear the tone and it sounded more passionate, prepared and rousing then the CSU speech I earlier in the week disparaged).

It was shocking when Obama came out to the podium...didn't he have black hair just 4 years ago? It's so gray now.