Being There: President Obama in Michigan

Everyone I spoke to had a variation of the same story. A call. An email. Sometime within 24 hours of the event, offering a ticket or two to hear President Barack Obama speak at Macomb Community College on July 14.

For me, it was a call Monday afternoon from one of Rep. Dingell’s staff. Mr. Dingell had five tickets – they were offering me one. Did I want it?

Yes – if it was OK with my boss!

For the couple in line in front of me, it was a call Monday night from a lobbyist they knew who had two tickets.

For the student seated next to me, it was an email from Macomb Community College Monday, offering the tickets first-come, first-serve.

The UAW workers were called Tuesday morning. The honor student received a call from the college president Monday night. The 15-year-old photography student brought her father because she only has a learner’s permit and a really amazing camera.

We all dropped our agendas, found a baby sitter, changed our plans, canceled a meeting or two, and made our way to hear the president.

It  wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I only got lost twice on the drive there, and found where to join the line without any problem. I wasn’t really late. I even saw someone from Ann Arbor – one of the developers of a proposed project. At least we had something to talk about while we waited in line.

Security was easier than I anticipated, too. I didn’t have to take off my shoes, and except for having to turn on my phone and camera, there were no other major demands.

Although no one could bring in bottled water, plastic glasses of water were available. (I drank two, right away. Standing in line for 40 minutes will do that.) There were seats for nearly everyone, but of course, I wasn’t first in line.

Who Were We?

Everyone was happy to be there, in the sun, waiting for two hours.

We talked while we waited. The woman next to me revealed that she was a student at Macomb because she wants a better job. She and her husband were both clearly in their 50s, and in other economies would be talking about retiring. Seeking more training and a new job at this point would be difficult.

I asked about her current job, and learned that she works in human resources for an auto supply company. She didn’t need to tell me much for me to understand that her company isn’t doing well, isn’t hiring many people, and human resources is spending more and more time dealing with letting people go and helping them retrain for other jobs.

With a little prompting from her husband, she told me about wanting to be a patient advocate, and then went on to tell me how frustrating it can be to work with medical professionals who are too busy to really understand the needs of patients. She wants to make certain patients and their families are well represented in all aspects of medical care.

Her mother, she told me, has early stage Alzheimer’s. When she had a mastectomy, the hospital explained the needed aftercare to her – but ignored the fact that Alzheimer’s patients lose their short-term memory first. So her mother was sent home with no idea about how to care for herself. No one explained the care to her daughter – because that wasn’t part of hospital’s thought process.

This type of lack of communication with families and lack of understanding of the entire patient had encouraged her to look at becoming a patient advocate.

Others I spoke with had such diverse reasons for going to community college. They’d lost their job and needed retraining in another field. They were taking classes so they could get into another school. I was in Warren, but I could have been talking with students at Washtenaw Community College.

Of course, just like me, there were the usual political folks. I saw the mayor of this and the village president of that. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Governor Jennifer Granholm, Lieutenant Governor John Cherry and others were there. People representing unions and companies were chatting with each other. Just listening to everyone was educational.

Technology Changes Us

When President Obama’s plane landed, people were following the news on their phones. They knew which route he was taking, and spoke about how he’d be traveling over streets imperfectly fixed by the stimulus dollars, and how they hoped he’d do something about that. (The local government received the funds to start the project, but didn’t have the money to complete it, so they took off the surface of the street and then stopped work!)

As his motorcade arrived, a rush of folks moved to a gap in the fence to take photos. And of course, during the 30 minutes he spoke, everyone was attentive and so supportive.

Nearly everyone had a cell phone, a camera, maybe a recorder. There were camcorders of many sizes. Some people even took notes on paper!

I don’t see much reason to report on President Obama’s speech. After all, the media has already reduced it to sound bites. I did hear some good messages, however.

“When you lose your job, even when entire communities are losing jobs, that’s a heavy burden.”

“I welcome the responsibility.” (in reference to the economy)

“Michigan, you know bad weather – you can be on top of the need to weatherize.” (discussing alternative fuel and alternative energy)

As I left, my route took me past where the motorcade was waiting. A row of campus security waited on horseback, while a crowd stood at the barricades shouting “OBAMA! OBAMA!”

As the president left, he waved – and I missed the shot, capturing instead someone’s hand in front of the camera. I got a fine shot of his back, surrounded by security.

And a slight sunburn.

Well worth it.

About the author: Sabra Briere is one of two representatives for Ward 1 on Ann Arbor’s city council .