Diary of a Democratic Delegate - "Lucky 7" in Charlotte

When I fly down to Charlotte NC in a few weeks, I'll be heading to my seventh national Democratic convention. This time, as in 1980, I'll be going as one of 5,556 delegates with full credentials to the "floor."  - - - My first DNC was in 1968 in Chicago when I embedded with the Michigan Democrats as a reporter for the Dearborn Times Herald. I was still in high school, so my sister, Pat, accompanied me and gave me full reports on the street color while I attended the troubled convention sessions. I hung close with the delegation and remember how we were escorted everywhere to avoid "unpleasant" contacts. At the old Holiday Inn, where we were staying, there was talk of dissidents putting LSD in the drinking water and tossing urine-filled balloons from hotel windows. What I remember most was that we were glad to come home safe! That convention, and that star-crossed year, made it impossible for party nominee Hubert Humphrey to win that fall. - - - MY NEXT EXPERIENCE at a DNC was 1980 in New York City, where I was a Carter delegate and one of the Carter vote whips in our state delegation. I had been involved in the President's tough primary campaign and was rewarded with a delegate slot. It was a difficult experience because the convention was so divisive and those of us involved in the logistics had to work so darn hard. All I can remember is, "I thought this was supposed to be fun!" That was the year the Rs came to Detroit and nominated Ronald Reagan, who went on to beat President Carter (who I still admire greatly!) - - - My next four Democratic conventions were COURTESY OF CHRYSLER. In those days, the company hosted lavish events at both national conventions, and as director of state relations, I was front-and-center in the planning and the partying! I also had the task of working my contacts to ensure my colleagues (sometimes up to a couple dozen) could find passes to attend convention sessions and VIP events.  - - - In Chicago in 1996, I remember learning the Macarena and watching it sweep the city as the Clinton Administration was celebrated. In LA in 2000, I remember working with the UAW to turn the Petersen Auto Museum into a first-class venue where we hosted a number of events, including one attended by Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. - - - In 2004 in Boston, Chrysler took over the JFK Museum for a first-class reception honoring Governor Granholm. CNN's Anderson Cooper was among the attendees, as were lots of other luminaries, but the buzz of that convention was from keynoter Barack Obama, who electrified the audience. I was blessed to have been there! - - - The 2008 convention was in Denver, and again, I was honored to hear nominee Obama wow the crowd at the closing session at the SRO football stadium. The speech was moved to the bigger venue to accommodate the crowds - and my most vivid memory was waiting in the hot sun for six hours to get to our seats (with my boss and his wife, who usually wait for nothing!) - - - So now, CHARLOTTE WILL BE number seven. Lucky, we hope, and somewhat appropriate in another sense too in that my late mother's middle name was Charlotte and her favorite number was seven...and she shared a birthday (11-7-18) with Charlotte's most notable citizen, Billy Graham...and she was a rabid Democrat! It all adds up there somewhere, doesn't it?