Darby's Denver Diary
By Darby Luxenberg
Thursday
I can’t believe it -- the last day of the Convention. Where has this week gone? Yes, I am tired, but in an energized way. So, off to a women’s caucus I go. I head over to the Denver Convention Center only two blocks from my hotel to hear from prominent women leaders from around the country, including Michele Obama.
Time for a quick lunch with friends, then on to Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium for the main event -- the acceptance speech by Barack Obama. I rode the shuttle and then had to walk, along with the other 84,000 attendees, for what seemed forever until we were finally cleared and allowed into the stadium. Once inside, I made my way to my seat and got comfortable. You know how they say it’s the humidity in Mobile that makes it so unpleasant during the summer? WRONG! It was 90 degrees in Denver with 30 percent humidity and it was still hot sitting in that stadium. So that myth has been shot down as far as I am concerned. The entertainment between speeches while waiting for the Obama speech was pretty good -- Cheryl Crow, Will I am, Stevie Wonder and Michael McDonald. Not bad, huh?
Senator Obama’s speech met all my expectations. The entire stadium listened intently and then responded along with the fireworks overhead when his remarks ended. I have been fortunate to be invited to the “kickoff to victory” party being given in a facility there at Invesco Field following Senator Obama’s speech, so I didn’t have to file out of the stadium with that huge happy crowd. The event was bedlam with beverages and food. As I was entering, I saw Oprah and Forest Whitaker leaving. Needless to say, I saw lots of people I had met during the week as well as old friends from before the convention. It was a good way to wrap up my convention activities.
What I will remember about this Convention is the open and friendly people of Denver and the almost magical experience of viewing, up close and personal, the workings of what makes this country the best place on Earth to live and the process we go through every four years to keep it relevant and progressing.
