The Subway on Cedar Street in Holt.
Happy Inauguration Day! I slept right up until the time President Obama took the oath, but J got up “early” so she wouldn’t miss anything. That’s why I bought a TIVO five years ago. Obama wasn’t my choice for President, but I do have a little bit of history with the man so it was neat to see. When I worked and a TV news photographer in Peoria, there was an unknown state senator from Chicago with a funny name who was an underdog for the US Senate seat being vacated by Peter Fitzgerald. We spent a lot of time covering front runners Blair Hull and Dan Hynes. Then, something happened. Blair Hull’s nasty divorce got brought into the race and this unknown made a huge surge. Barack Obama won his party’s nomination. Still, he was the underdog against Republican Jack Ryan. Well, wouldn’t you know it. Jack Ryan’s messy divorce got drug into the race and he eventually dropped out leaving Barack Obama with no Republican opponent.
It was during this time I got sent to the small town of Canton, IL in Fulton County. Barack Obama was stumping at the Fulton County Democratic Headquarters. The room was packed. There was probably fifty people jammed into a room that held thirty. I was jammed into the corner with my big camera near the podium. After the speech, the future President put his hand on my back, thanked me for coming, and asked if I needed an interview. At that time, I declined because I had the sound I needed. I look back now and kick myself. Then, it was no big deal. I had interviewed hundreds of politicians at the state and federal level. It just wasn’t a big deal. I just wanted to go grab dinner and head back to Peoria…a thirty minute drive.
That wasn’t the first time or the last time I covered a story about Barack Obama, but after his speech at the 2004 DNC, everything changed. He became a rock star and events now started drawing hunderds and media availability dwindled.
On February 10, 2007, I stood on a riser between reporters from ABC and CNN in front of the old State Capitol in Springfield, IL when Barack Obama announced his run for the presidency. I was working for the Obama campaign as a freelance camera operator. I was hired by a production company (not the actual campaign) to run the main camera for the pool feed that was being fed all over the world. I think it was then that it hit me what was happening.
Here it is, five years after that meeting in Canton, and J and I are watching the same man being sworn in as our 44th President. The swearing in went to just after noon. As we sit on the couch watching Charlie Gibson, we realized we didn’t have anything to eat. Not wanting to cook, J said she’d buy lunch if I’d drive. I had been seeing commercials for Subway’s new flat bread and got curious. We always forget there’s a Subway just around the corner in Holt, but today, I happened to remember. J was on board so Subway it was. Read the rest of this entry »
Mid-Michigan Dining 
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