We did some stumping at the “Third Alarm Diner” this morning in Sanford, Maine. The diner theme is: “firefighting,” with both owners being local firefighters. Bob April, who has been with the Sanford Fire Department 17 years, told me they’ve rennovated the diner over the past 4 years. The walls are filled with dynamic pictures of local fires, fire trucks, fire fighters in action… and there is a phenomenally striking firefighting mural on the outside. Among other memorabilia inside is a 1911 model of a “Christie” Pumper. My son Joseph, 6, who is absolutely addicted to firefighting stuff, was in heaven. Later this morning, I told reporter Brian Smith of the Sanford News here that our platform calls for people supporting these types of small downtown businesses much more than they support the big national franchises like McDonald’s, Wal Mart, Lowe’s… Smith asked if that would upset these “bigger companies?” I said yes.

I was interviewed today by Tammy Wells of the Journal Tribune. She asked how my reception had been here in Sanford, Maine so far. I said: “not good.” I prefaced the story by saying John Kerry probably appeared on the front page of every newspaper across the country for his “first pitch” the night before at the Red Sox game. Not to be outdone, I approached the operations manager of the Sanford Mainers (Summer Inter-Collegiat College League) to throw out the “first pitch” at their game last night here. She, as judiciously as possible, said she was sorry but they had one of the stadium volunteers lined up to throw the “first pitch” because it was, after all, Volunteer Night. Undaunted, I continued: “How about the ’second pitch?’” She smiled, but said no again. However, I did take in a few innings. And what’s more, I got to experience something Kerry missed out on altogether: “Bruce d’Moose.” The Mainer’s mascot is, that’s right, a moose — big furry head with with antlers, the whole thing! During the 7th inning stretch, ‘Bruce’ even got a top the Mainer’s ‘Moose Mobile’ and circled the stadium waving and tilting his antlers. A sight you won’t want to miss if you are up in this part of Maine any time before the season is over. And life on the back roads rolls on…

We traveled east today to Sanford, Maine (pop. 18,000) where I met with Alan Lawrence, 20. Some four years ago, just a week after he got his driver’s license, his car hit a soft shoulder, spun and hit a tree at 40 mph. The accident caused massive brain injury, he was in a coma for six months and half of his body was paralyzed. With intensive rehabilitation, he is able to walk, ride a three wheel bicycle and is now in college trying to get a degree in Digital Media. He still has limited mobility and as we talked I noticed his speech was a bit halting, and so on. Prior to the accident, Alan had been a competitive inland skater. He said the accident has not only caused physical trauma to him, but financial hardship for his family. Just a few days prior, I had told a reporter from the Berlin (NH) Daily Sun (as I’ve told reporters across the country) that our platform promotes “Walkable Communities.” Several years ago, we interviewed Dan Burden in High Springs, Florida. Burden, who Time Magazine recently called one of the top environmentalists in the country, travels America showing towns how to become much more walking and bicycle friendly with lower speed limits, diagonal paths to town, wider berm lanes for walkers and bicyclists… With the traffic speeds considerably lower, with more alternative vehicles (electric, solar powered…), with more people walking and bicycling… wouldn’t the amount of deblitating accidents be diminished in kind? Not to mention pollution. –We will be in Sanford the next couple days to conduct a whistle-stop event at the town square Wednesday.

We were invited to Warner, New Hampshire for the 30th Anniversary of Magdalen College this weekend. This small college is thread through with a tremendous Catholic ethos. The keynote speaker was a Superior from a Benedictine Monestary in Rome, Italy. And during his talk, he said people in leadership positions will be called to give an accounting to God of those they were entrusted to lead. After the talk, I told my wife Liz that that puts a whole new light on this: “presidency thing.” I mean just for one, I’m not sure the people in Northern California want to be necessarily led — by anyone. We also met Joshua Miller, his wife and three children at Magdalen. Miller said they are part of Samaritan Ministries, which is a Christian Health Insurance Group that has started up across the nation. He said because of the relatively large size of the group now, their family pays a comparitively low premium every month. And he said when someone in the network experiences medical problems, not only are they compensated financially, but a whole prayer network in the group kicks in as well. The Millers said they do their part to stay healthy too, with, for instance, a diet of only small amounts of sugar, wheat and dairy products. Average Joe truism: If we ate better, exercised more and were less stressed — we wouldn’t get sick as much. Well, it’s true.

We were in Berlin, New Hampshire today where I was interviewed by reporter Chad Dryden of The Berlin Daily Sun. He asked about my platform. I said, for one, our education position paper calls for a shift: with one-third of curriculum, from K thru12, being volunteer work out in the community. I told Dryden I wanted our children learning as much about social justice toward the disadvantaged as I did them learning about math, science, English… “I mean in God’s eyes, what would be more important?” I posed. After the interview, Dryden said he took up the “sport” of snow shoeing to cope with the long winters up here. “They say if you can walk, you can snow shoe,” Dryden laughed. I told my wife Liz that that would be the “sport” for me as well. She agreed.

We stopped at the “Common Grounds Cafe” in Lancaster, New Hampshire today where Dale Martin told us I was the first presidential candidate to stop at his establishment “since John Edwards almost came here.” (Leading up to the New Hampshire Primary earlier this year, Edwards was scheduled to come to the Cafe, but last minute wasn’t able to.) Over a cup of coffee, Martin told me he was a member of the “12 Tribes,” a Christian Community of people living together in three houses here and sharing everything in common — because that’s how the Bible says to do it. (There are 12 Tribe Communities worldwide.) The community members pray, eat, exercise, raise children, work… together. They, for instance, own the Cafe and a number of other businesses throughout town. We spent the day touring their facilities, sharing stories and praying together. I told the local Coos County Democrat newspaper I was quite impressed with the camaraderie, the atmosphere of prayer and, well, the love that seems to be here. I was also left with the question (one I’ve thought about often): If the Bible says so clearly that this was how the early Christians were meant to live: why did that ever change? The next day we went to Jefferson, New Hampshire to catch up with some of the 12 Tribe Community members who had taken their children swimming in a rather isolated pond here. They don’t want their children exposed to the immodesty of modern public swimming venues. What’s more, the women and girls ’swim wear’ consists of quite modest, sort of puffy pants that come down to almost mid-calf, and quite modest t-shirts and the like, the men and boys wear long shorts and keep their t-shirts on even in the water. Our children dress likewise when they are swimming, and for the first time in quite some time on the road, our family didn’t feel out of place. What’s more, I can’t tell you how much respect I had for these parents and their concern, not so much for their childrens’ fashion statements — as their childrens’ souls.

In East St. Johnsbury, Vermont today we met with Beth Ridley, a para-educator working with special needs children at the 3rd and 4th grade level. She said the school employs a “team approach.” For each student, there is usually some combination of a case worker, a physical therapist, classroom teacher, para-educator, mental health therapist, an advocate from the Social Rehabilitation Service. Ms. Ridley cited a number of success stories. And while seemingly a lot of resources, I couldn’t help but think how worthwhile this comprehensive model is. I mean, these are all children of God and deserve the best help available. Period.

St. Johnsbury is the host of this year’s Babe Ruth Youth League Baseball Playoffs. Teams from all over the state were here, and I took our kids to a couple of the games. Fairly good attendance. There had to be about 200 people. I have often said, as president, I would be way more apt to throw out the “first pitch” at one of these youth stadiums than at, say, Yankee Stadium or Camden Yards… It is these young people who need our attention most.

I met with Fr. Joseph Towle in St. Johnsbury, VT today. He is a Maryknoll missionary who spent 10 years filming the video series Children of the Earth. Youth from Japan, Africa, Central America… are featured as a way of getting American youth more familiar with (and sympathetic to) what is going on with their contemporaries in other cultures. Fr. Towle travels the country talking in schools about the videos and trying to plant a new curriculum idea: Fr. Towle suggests a student in the 7th grade “adopts a country.” Then for the next six years, the student follows events in that country, writes reports, and so on… as a way of being more connected to the global community.

At the St. Johnsbury House in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, I gave an impromptu “front porch” speech, in the tradition of another Ohio presidential candidate, Warren Harding. (The only difference being Harding would do these things from his front porch.) The St. Johnsbury House is a home for seniors here. I later told reporter Rachael Morrow, of the local Caledonian Record, that our platform calls for maintaining the Social Security fund, but more… “social security should be just that: social security.” That is, instead of being pushed off in nursing homes, assissted living facilities and RV travel, the seniors should be restored to their rightful, and respected, place in our family homes and communities — like it was in the old days, and like it still is in other cultures.

In Montpelier, Vermont, the state capitol, we met with Doug Wells, a representative of Solar Works. He said across the country a type of solar system is starting to be installed where once you’ve used what you’ve needed for the month, the excess goes back into the grid. And as it does, “your meter actually starts to spin backwards,” said Wells. Wells said he got involved with the solar company because he wanted to be part of the solution toward a more sustainable world. While a philosophy major at Miami University, Wells said he came up with, well, this philosophy: “It doesn’t matter whether the glass is half full, or half empty — if it’s polluted and you can’t drink it anyway.” [A picture ran in the Times Argus newspaper here with me talking to Doug Wells. The caption said I wanted to make the country safe for kids, cut down on Federal Government, end crime, stop pollution… I mean, who wouldn’t want to vote for that? Yet the polls, surprisingly, still show we’re behind.]

Vermont is one of the most “walking friendly” states in the nation, with all sorts of “Yield to Pedestrian” signs about, including in Burlington, Vermont’s biggest city and where we headed next. With people everywhere on the street early this evening and the outdoor cafe tables full, we couldn’t help but think: “Bullhorn Country.” So we got out our $3 garage sale bullhorn, and in the tradition of the old-time campaigns, drove about the downtown slowly and told anybody within earshot (range of about 100 ft.): “VOTE JOE, HE’S THE WAY TO GO!” About the third pass through town, we came across a swank cafe, with outside tables filled primarily with couples. Couples all lost in conversation. That is, they were lost in conversation until the street light adjacent to them turned red and I trained the bull horn toward them: “VOTE JOE…” was all I could get out as people at each respective table jumped, upsetting water glasses and the like. (Our six-year-old Joseph had apparently turned up the volume on the bullhorn before handing it to me.) And there went a few votes…

We toured the National Morgan Horse Museum in Shelburne, VT today and archivist Kathy Furr told me the Morgan, which was the first horse bred in America, was yesteryear’s version of “today’s SUV’s”. That is, they were fast, could plow a field, pull a wagon… I told the Shelburne News that our agricultural platform calls for a return to the small family farm, the use of these types of horses again (like they do in the Amish communities) in tandem with, say, some “low tech,” small solar powered tractors and the like. One of the reasons for this is because the bigger, and more “high tech,” tractors, super-combines, and the like… have opened the door for corporate farming in a big way — pushing the small farmer off the land.

We met with Fr. Jim Noonan in Shelburne, Vermont today. He grew up in Shelburne, but is now a Mary Knoll missionary in Cambodia. He said in Cambodia 50% of the children are illiterate, and 50% are also malnourished. What’s more, the per capita annual income is a mere $300 there. And many of the children in Cambodia, as is true throughout the Third World, die of what are now considered “prevenatble diseases,” said Fr. Noonan. Fr. Noonan said it’s hard to say we live in a “civilized time” when a majority of the people in developed Western countries carry on with their lifestyles, spend billions on defense, and so on… while these little children are dying by the scores elsewhere.

We met with Fr. Gerard Leclerc in Vergennes, Vermont today. Fr. Leclerc was a priest in Bolivia for 20 years and said except for Haiti, Bolivia is, peerhpas, the poorest country in the world. His parish was on the Alti Plano, some 12,300 feet in elevation and where kids were hungry and barefoot, while their parents worked exceedingly long hours for excruciatingly low pay in the mines. And what’s more, the air in the mines is laced with toxic sulphuric and choleric acids. I told the Addison Independent newspaper here that if Americans, at almost any socio-economic level, would cut back some on heating, cooling (We actually used to live without air conditioning. Remember?), driving, junk food… what a tremendous pool of money, and other help, we could generate for the poor in Bolivia, and elsewhere. Note: We’ve been in I can’t tell ya’ how many towns in America, and today was a first. The backs of town city limits signs will frequently say things like: “Come Back Soon!”; or, “Thanks For Visiting!”; or… The back of Vergennes town limits sign simply says: “Farewell”.

‘The British were coming’… and they were met by the “Green Mountain Boys,” and others in the Colonial troops, at the hills of Humbardton, Vermont on July 7, 1777. It was the only battle of the American Revolution to be fought totally on Vermont soil. According to literature at the National Historic Site here, the Colonists gave the British “startling exposure to American courage in battle.” We arrived here a week after the annual reenactment of a battle that claimed 580 casualties, 27% of those who fought on both sides. And though we missed the reenactment, looking out over the expansive battlefield today, it was as if you could still almost hear the pitched musket fire of yesteryear.

We stopped in the small town of Whitehall, New York. This was the birthplace of the U.S. Navy. In 1776, Congress ordered the construction of a fleet of ships here to counter an anticipated British invasion. It came. And on Oct. 11, 1776, 12 American ships sailed foward to take on a formidable British Armada. The Americans, according to accounts, fought valiantly — under the direction of, none other than, Commander Benedict Arnold. And even though the Americans “lost,” with most of their ships being crippled or destroyed altogether, the battle forced a delay in the rest of the British invasion, which, ultimately, gave the Colonial forces more time to prepare. And the rest, as they say, is history… What history doesn’t say, at least much, I told editor Pat Ripley of the Whitehall newspaper here is that that the fleet of First Navy boats that would be launched for “freedom’s sake,” were built in part, ironically enough, by slaves. I learned this, and many other things, at a museum here dedicated to those early Navy days.

We got to Utica, New York just in time to watch the “Boilermaker,” the largest 15K (9.3 mile) road race in the country — some 10,000 runners participated today. My son Joseph and I watched most of those runners go by, including two guys dressed like the “Blues Brothers” in sun glasses, suits, ties… and boy were they sweating. These guys were followed closely by a woman wearing a rather loud pink flamingo hat, with the neck and head duly flopping about. And chugging along behind her, at a pace that can best be described as “average,” was a guy who had a t-shirt that said: “Gary: age 58.” Being ‘average,’ and all, Joseph and I cheered particularly loud for him… We then stopped at the Shrine of Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda, New York. She is one step from becoming a “saint” in the Catholic Church. Of the Mohawk Tribe, she had suffered much persecution because of her Christian faith in the mid-1660s. She also had a quite noted love of God’s creation. So much so, she is often referred to as a patroness for the environment. And it is the environment that many are out of touch with these days I told an agricultural reporter for the nearby The Amsterdam Recorder later this afternoon. I said often the closest many get to nature anymore “…is watching the Weather Channel.”

We stopped at the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, New York. Ms. Tubman, interestingly enough, was one of my wife Liz’s childhood heroes growing up in New Zealand. Ms. Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849 from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, then made 19 perilous trips South to help free some 300 other slaves from the “Jaws of Hell.” A reward of $40,000 was offered for her capture. Liz got a t-shirt here with what Ms. Tubman would frequently say to those she was helping on the trip up North: “Children, if you are tired, keep going; if you are scared, keep going; if you are hungry, keep going; if you want to taste freedom, keep going.”

We headed east stopping at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York. It was here in 1848 that the first Women’s Rights Convention in U.S. history was held. Some of the issues included the right to vote, property rights, equal education… The National Woman’s Hall of Fame walls here display all kinds of women instrumental in bringing about some of this change: Dorothy Day, a famous Catholic activist, Bessie Coleman (first African American woman pilot — get her license two years before Amelia Aerhart), Sojourner Truth, a nationally reknowned traveling preacher… Amy Worth, a staff member at the Women’s Hall of Fame, said people come year round from all over the world to visit here.

We headed into the near west side of Buffalo where we met with an absolutely fascinating doctor, Myron Glick. He has started a Family Practice here called Jericho Road. And he treats everyone, insurance or no insurance (using a minimal sliding fee scale). This general area is the home for refugee families from all over the world, and Dr. Glick estimates he’s treated patients from at least 50 countries. He said what drives him is his faith. And that faith (he’s Christian) he believes would say, “…that every person has a right to quality health care.” Dr. Glick is pushing for a National Health Care System. And in the interum, he’s looking to help start a similar practice in Buffalo’s near east side. After meeting with Dr. Glick, I told a reporter from the Western New York Catholic newspaper that Dr. Glick is demonstrating a good example of the spirit of the Catholic Church’s teachings on bringing more social justice to the world.

Jamestown, New York is the birthplace of the late actress Lucille Ball. You can’t go around a corner here without seeing her picture in a mural, on a storefront, wherever. About 20,000 people come to her museum here annually. “The world hasn’t stopped ‘loving Lucy,’” said the museum’s marketing director Pat Briminger. We then headed north in Gowanda, NY where I interviewed Officer Ron Russell. He ‘bicycles a beat’ here as part of the town’s Community Oriented Policing model. As part of the program, Officer Russell attended two 40-hour Bicycle Training Programs for C.O.P. officers. Officer Russell said being on a bicycle (as opposed to being encased in a squad car) has helped him develop a better rapport with the town people. And as rapport builds, cooperation with police increases — and crime drops. Our Sarah, 8, listened in on the conversation tonight. Afterward she said: “Boy Dad, he (Officer Russell) really made me feel safe.”

I did the WJTN “Jim Roselli” radio show out of Jamestown, New York this morning. I said a key platform point of ours is: “You can’t heal the country until you heal the family.” Dr. Edward Hallowell, who was the next radio guest, and is a pshychiatrist and instructor at Harvard University, leaned into the microphone and said: “That’s right.” Several hours later, a reporter from Channel 8 News (with the camera rolling) said to me: “So if you win…” I stopped him and said: “What do you mean ‘if?’” And, ok, if I did win… I’d definitely consider Jamestown’s Dr. Rudolph Mueller for a top post in the Surgeon General’s Office. Mueller practices internal medicine and is the author of: “As Sick As It Gets (Healthcare in America)”. He, as are many others these days, is pushing for a National Health Care System where everyone is covered. Dr. Mueller frequently travels the country lecturing and trying to get his point across. Meeting with Dr. Mueller this afternoon, I asked him why he was pushing so passionately for this. He said he’d heard too many horror stories, like the one of a local woman here. She got a cut on her foot. It got infected. She was strapped financially and afraid she couldn’t afford a medical bill. Gangrene set in. By the time she finally went for treatment, there was only one course left. Her leg had to be cut off. “The system is wrong,” Dr. Mueller asserted. “It needs to be redesigned.”

We headed north to Jamestown, New York where The Post-Journal reporter Dennis Phillips asked why I was running. I replied: “We’re concerned about violence in society — including to the unborn — drug abuse, the break down of the nuclear family and the extremely overt and addictive sexual acting out in the media and society in general.”Phillips also interviewed Barb Marlinski, who we had met earlier, for the article. Barb said: “He is for everything that’s important to me and I think he is important for everything that should be important to everybody in the United States.” This evening I also met with Ken Vedder, 17, who has started a website for youth: teenpundit.com. His site offers space for political columns and things like blogs for debates on such topics as Religion, Science, World Politics, U.S. Politics… Ken said youth are often anxious to be heard on these issues, but sometimes aren’t asked their opinion.

I toured the Phoenix House today in Warren, Pennsylvania. It is a halfway house for men with drug and alcohol addiction. It is not connected to a county, or state, agency; but rather was started by what we refer to as an “extra mile American.” Jack Wells started the Phoenix House some 18 years ago because, simply, he saw a need. Since then, some 500 men have gone through the house and Wells estimates some 50% have stayed straight. Many have subsequently gone back to their families, have successful careers and are helping others get straight now too. When asked his motivation for starting the halfway house, Wells replied: “Did you ever save someone else’s life who was drowning?” After meeting with Wells, in honor of the 4th of July, I also met with a couple men who fought for freedom. Gary Seymour and Joby McAulay, both also from Warren, are Vietnam veterans. McAulay started the local chapter of Veterans of the Vietnam War, Inc. (VVnW) several years prior. He also spearheaded the drive to get “The Moving Wall” ( a 5/8th size replica of The Wall in D.C.) to come to Warren recently. He said in a town of 9,000, there were some 4,000 people for the opening ceremony. McAulay said for the five days The Wall was here, people came from all over and left pictures, bracelets, a bottle of a fallen comrade’s favorite beer… on the grass in front of the panel with that particular friend or loved one’s name on it. McAuley, who fought with the 4th Infantry, said in just one battle he lost “44 buddies.” There were a lot of tears those five days in Warren McAuley said, some of them his.

We had the “average Joe” mobile in Warren’s 4th of July Parade today. We were lined up next to a fleet of “The Shriners” organization, bright yellow miniature cars. I walked over and asked: “Hey guys… Is this your answer to the higher gas prices?” They laughed, sort of. State Senate Democratic candidate Kevan Yenerall was also lined up nearby with some of his local organizers, and more green baloons than I’ve ever seen assembled in one place. Yenerall is a professor of Political Science at Clarion University in Pennsylvania. During an interview, he told me he “believes in civic engagement because politics affect almost every part of one’s life: health care, education, business… to potholes in the street.” What’s more, Yenerall doesn’t just rely in didactic teaching methods, he also has the students regularly attend city council meetings, school board meetings, and the like… As the parade got going, we found ourselves right behind a local, Sunday morning radio “Jazz Float,” complete with a band playing some absolutely wonderful tunes. That is, at least the parts you could hear in between my wife (and campaign manager) Liz calling out on our garage sale, $3 bullhorn: “VOTE JOE! HE’S THE WAY TO GO!” Both Liz and my voices were rather hoarse by the end of the parade — which lasted a phenomenal 3 hours.

We arrived in Warren, Pennsylvania a couple days ago and met with Alan Kiser. He is a Constitutional Party state coordinator and candidate. Kiser has run for State Senator and for a House of Represenatives seat. He lost both times, but continues on undaunted. He said his party stands on “Biblical (id, post_author, post_date, post_content, post_title, post_category, post_excerpt, post_status, comment_status, ping_status, post_password, post_name,to_ping, pinged, post_modified) VALUES with a Constitutional standard.” They are pro-family, pro-life and pro-Republic. They would like to see a much smaller Federal Government and a much smaller, and more succint, Constitution — as it was written in the beginning. Alan believes politics should be the “hobby” of every American, because it is so important in setting the tone for society. I told reporter Chuck Hayes of Warren’s Times Observer: “We would like to see a whole lot more Alan Kisers, no matter what they’re political persuasion.” –We are arranging to be in the Warren 4th of July Parade tomorrow. And that’s only because we couldn’t get a good seat. Oddest thing. Some 30 summers ago, according to an article in the Observer, someone “obsessed with have a prime spot” to watch the parade, put their lawn chair out a few days early. Now, starting almost a week out, residents line Pennsylvania Ave. here with lawn chairs they tie to trees and so forth. (They’re even having a lawn chair decorating contest for the first time this year.)… Wait a minute! Did I write: “Pennsylvania Ave.” Might be a warm-up for us for Inaugaration Day next year. (As my wife Liz will often say to me at these moments: “It’s a happy little world you’re living in.”)

In Union City, Pennsylvania, as a campaign donation of sorts today, Village Sign’s Tim Hershberger put some signage on the back of our second campaign vehicle. It reads: “Got Joe?” Clever, huh? And we don’t even have any campaign consultants.

We did a “whistle-stop” event in front of a historic diner in downtown Edinboro, Pennsylvania today on Rte. 6. The event had a new feature today, a small bull horn we’d picked up at a garage sale for 3 bucks. Our six-year-old Joseph loved that. “Can I use it Dad, really!” We might have lost some votes today, but Joseph had fun — screaming. Afterward we had a press conference, or sorts, in the “average Joe” mobile with reporters from the Meadville Tribune and Erie Times-News. I said the night before I had attended a small faith community meeting at Our Lady of the Lake Church here. The group has done a number of outreach projects and most recently they are fasting meals, desserts, etc., and putting the savings in a fund for the “Kid’s Cafe” in the inner city of Erie Pennsylvania, just north of here. One of the group members, Jerry Caler, who made the Olympic Trials as a gymnist in 1964, has volunteered at the Kid’s Cafe. He said perhaps the most poignant thing he’s heard there is a youth saying: “Before I started coming down here, I didn’t know you were supposed to eat three times a day.”

“Pit stop” back in Ohio.

In Decature, Indiana (pop. 9,000) we met with Judge Jim Heimann and his family. Judge Heimann has been on the bench the pat 14 years here, having run for office twice, literally. He said during his campaigns he has knocked on every door in his district, actually running from door-to-door in a black suit, and matching black pair of tennis shoes. Judge Heimann is a Democrat who has a strong pro-life stance and an empathy for social justice issues — as do his children. Kyle and Amber, for instance as students at Purdue University, have been to Haiti on mission trips several times as part of a church twinning project. Amber said she was particularly impacted by the stark poverty. Amber’s college major is Child Health, and she said she was tremendously saddened to see the malnutrition and disease in the young children in Haiti because of, primarily, lack of food and medicine. Kyle had also recently returned from Juarez, Mexico where he helped build a home for a homeless family there. During a talk show on Decatur’s local radio station, I said it is young adults like Amber and Kyle, who are continually looking beyond themselves, who are the hope for America, and part of the hope for the world. And it is families like the Heimanns that should be models for all families — if we want the kind of country we think God would intend. Incidentally, Kyle is also a musician and, as a donation, is currently working on an “average Joe” theme song that I recently wrote. One line: “Shipshewana, don’t you wanna… vote for Joe!” Stay tuned.

We headed up Rte. 3 in eastern Indiana today, stopping first at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle. Fascinating, and quite elaborate place. Of course it is Indiana, where basketball is a close second to breathing. At the Hall of Fame we learned the legendary James Dean, before he was a Hollywood rebel, was a “rebel on the hardwood” for the Fairmount (IN) Quakers in 1949. After viewing displays about Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and a host of other homegrown Hoosier basketball players — I came to the “Miracle of Milan” display. A short video here explained that in 1954, this tiny school in Milan, Indiana did the impossible. On a last second shot by a boy named Bobby Plump, Milan beat the tremdously bigger Muncie Central: to win the state championship. The movie “Hoosiers” was based on this team. (During campaign 2000, I was asked by a Fox News reporter in Indianapolis to characterize our campaign. I said: “Have you ever seen the movie Hoosiers?) After the Hall, we headed north where we stopped at Muncie’s Annual Black Expo. Part of the event, included a basketball tournament at an outdoor court. The stands were full, with neighborhood people enthusiastically cheering their teams. I couldn’t help but think this day tht we should be supporting these local teams, and local players, much more than we do. And, wouldn’t it be nice to see “Halls of Fame” in every town in America — featuring these same local ’sandlot’ players.

Earlier in the week, I gave a short talk at St. Mary’s Church in Salina. I noted that St. Mary’s Social Concerns Commission cites a 1995 Catholic Bishops Pastoral Message that read: “The pursuit of economic justice is not an option or add-on for Catholics; it is part of who we are and what we believe.” In that spirit, later in the day I told the Northwestern Kansas Register newspaper (of the diocese of Salina) that we ask a majority of Americans to consider cutting back on their lifestyles tremendously (less energy use, less clothes, smaller cars, house sharing…) and use the savings to help more in the Third World and the inner cities of America. The editor of the newspaper is Msgr. R. M. Menard. He’s 92. Yet when I walked in the office he was banging away on the keyboard like a new cub reporter. The keyboard of an old, grey manual Royal typewriter. I asked him about that, and he said: “I’ve just always done it this way.”

We were on the front page of the Salina (KS) Journal this week. Reporter Micheal Strand asked me to describe one of the projects we’ve researched. I pointed to a small town northwest of Salina called Atwood. Beyond local taxes, the town had developed a benevolent fund. It started 10 years ago with two citizens donating $20,000 — now the fund has almost one million dollars in it. While doing the research in Atwood, we learned people there donate out of a sense of civic responsibility. A board has been set up to distribute the money to, say, a town road project that needs more capital, or a senior citizen who is short on money for prescription medication, or a local school class that might need some additional art supplies… I told Strand that this is an excellent example of people-helping-people on a local level. And I told him if someone in Salina, or a neighboring town, reads about this in his story about us and does the same thing in their town — “we get a policy enacted long before we ever get to D.C.”

We stopped at the Prairie Museum of Art & History where there was a special display this day titled: “Bleeding Kansas.” Prior to the Civil War, there were tremendous riffs all over the state over slavery. Some factions were “Free,” the others were “Slave.” Kansas evolved into a tinder box which helped spark the Civil War, and ultimately, the abolition of slavery. But slavery still exists, I told a reporter from the Colby Free Press after touring the museum. I said little, inner city Black (White, Hispanic…) children are “slaves” to a cycle that, for the most part, keeps them in a “poverty loop.” And I said our platform asks people living comfortably in the suburbs and small town America to roll up their sleeves, go down to the inner city and bring another type of abolition — through creative mentoring programs and stepped up church and social service help.

We’ve entered Kansas, stopping first in the small town of Wilson (pop. 1,000). It is the “Czech Capital of Kansas.” Lavenge Shiroky, 83, told us some 43 years ago she went to the state capitol, Topeka, with a lawyer to get the town so designated. “You can’t just go out and put a sign up climing any ‘ole thing,” she smiled. After the declaration, Lavenge helped start an annual weekend Czech Festival here, complete with Polka music (”Czech’s bounce” a sign in a downtown dance hall here says.), roast goose and a variety of Kolache pastries. Lavange’s great grandmother came to America from Czecholslovakia in the late 1800s. Her name is on Ellis Island.

We stopped in Burlington, Colorado where we visited the quite impressive “Veterans Monument,” adjacent to VFW Post 6491. It was constructed in 2002. An authentic Cobra helicopter, aquired from the Department of Defense, sits atop a pointed pedestal of stainless steel, displaying plaques ot the Veterans Day Prayer, and a plaque to POW’s. The other three sides contain the names of those from the area who have died serving our country. There are currently some 400 names, and there is room (according to a brochure) for 1,200 names. Let’s hope they all don’t get filled in.

I gave a talk to members of a “Just Faith Group” at St. Joseph Catholic Community in Arvada, Colorado. Among other things, I said we believed in a “consistent pro-life ethic” that has us not only concerned about ending abortion, but about ending conditions that lead to poverty, pollution, war, and other things that can end life “prematurely.” The group has been meeting for almost a year and support each other in pursuing peace and social justice causes.

In Denver we met with Andrew and Theresa Biller and their family. Andrew had offered to be our ad hoc “campaign manager” in Colorado after seeing the website. Andrew said he took political science in college and didn’t want to go with either major party candidate this year. He has young children and is worried about the direction the country is going, particularly around war issues. So he did a search of “Project Vote Smart” for other presidential candidates and, finally, came across our website (it’s in alphabetical order). Andrew’s brother Jim and sister-in-law, Hang (from Vietnam), are worried about the Third World. They, with their three young children, have just committed to become Mary Knoll missionaries to a country in the Third World. (They’re currrently waiting to see if it’s Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Thailand…) Jim, who is a social action coordinator for Holy Ghost Church in downtown Denver, said the gospel compels he and his wife to reach out and “have compassion for others.” During the interview with the couple, Jim said he is also anxious to have his children exposed to another culture because often in the Third World the time for, and sense of, faith, family and community is more — because these countries are not as saturated with things like media and materialism as, say, America is.