Last Morristown

[karynnj]

Kerry signature - My husband held out the Corzine sign for Kerry to sign, because I hadn't thought to bring anything. It was so nice of him to sign it even if it was not even a Kerry thing.



Kerry with Marvin (I think)

[fedupinBushcountry]

1. Yep

that's Marv. Thanks for all these great pics.

[Kire]

23. and Thom Jackson, too

the smily guy on the right is running for assembly, and doing a helluva job

I don't know who belongs to that head of hair.

[Island Blue]

2. I know the yellow wristband is LiveStrong but

I wonder what the blue wristband he's wearing on his right wrist represents. Does anyone know?

[karynnj]

5. for Corzine Connection

Corzine people helped in co-ordinating the event.

[kerrygoddess]

3. Ah... marvelous Marvin!

He's the best!

[karynnj]

4. I thought that was who he was from earlier pictures posted

He seemed a very nice person - it was hard with 5 events (and Kerry running about an hour late by event 3) - he very nicely kept repeating that the Senator had to leave.

[ginnyinWI]

6. was this the first time you had seen JK in person?

If so, was he as you thought, or if not, how not?

Thanks for posting pictures--you had a great vantage point.

[karynnj]

7. Yeah it was the first time I ever saw him in person

NJ is pretty blue!

He was pretty much how I thought he would be. Probably the most surprising thing was how soft spoken he was when he was not giving his speech. He was also funnier than I expected - even though there have been hundreds of posts saying exactly that.

[ginnyinWI]

8. that was my reaction, too

more gentle, and more humorous. Not aloof, not reserved or stuffy in any way. He just enjoys the moment--and really seemed to connect with us in the audience. (I'm aware of the irony of saying that--totally contradicts the media's image of him.) He has a way of being very strong and very tuned-in at the same time--and that's something you really want in a good leader! (oh yes, and he was really late to the two appearances I attended, too!)

[karynnj]

9. Funny - I nearly used the word gentle too

Based on the rallies I saw only on tv, there was far more joy last year, while this year, there's a note of defiance - but it is in a very focused way that I think may that he feels he needs to wake up a lot of people and get them to demand accountability and participate as citizens in a democracy. He can only lead - and hope people will follow.

I think the size of the crowd is an indication that people are interested in what he has to say. It may be that his emails which often gave people easy ways to stay informed and even involved have left many people realizing that they should get more involved. I thought his comments about the likely smears very interesting. Many people, who can't volunteer, can do as he suggests - which is to learn the truth and take the risk to counter lies. I would assume that he expects Corzine and others to supply answers to smears - so people can get the truth from sources they can quote. Imagine if all active Democrats would have done that last year.

In spite of everything, there was an underlying optimism that the people can regain the country. I actually came away feeling much more positive - even though he did not sugar coat the state of the country. I think this is a stronger, more stable optimism than the "everything is getting better" mantra some try when it is very clear it's not true.

[TayTay]

10. Oy! Just Oy!

How many times do we (Massholes) have to tell you? We are not a stuffy people. (Oh Whome, are you going to high tea this afternoon? Want to join me and have some scones? We can discuss the stocks and maybe why cook insists on putting corriander in all the wrong dishes. And I broke a piece in my pattern, I can't possibly get to Shreve's to replace it before next month. I have to stare at an incomplete set for a whole three weeks. How awful.) Now, where was I? Oh yes, stuffy. We are not amused by these comments about being aloof, reserved and stuffy. Not amused at all. (Whome, did you make the arrangements yet for that spa weekend in the Berkshires. I want that weekend when the fall colors are just peaking. It's so lovely out there at that time of year. And no tourists, they all left when Tanglewoods decamped. Sigh!)

We are not stuffy! Massholes have a sense of humor. (Else we couldn't live here. It's too friggin cold.) Sentah Kehree could never, ever have been elected to the plum job of being a US Senator if he wasn't able to connect with people. Honest-to-gawd. It's why his strongest support comes from all those blue-collar cities. I swear I am not making this up.

Sigh! Whome, hand me that copy of Middlemarch. I so need something to focus my mind right now and that is just the thing. Gin and tonic, dear? honestly, there was a Harvard study done just the other year and it conclusively proved that Massachusetts people are not stuffy. Sigh! Perhaps the copies never made it past Worcester again. Well, it's not my fault. I wasn't the one who wrote out the shipping labels. That was cook's job.

[whometense]

13. heehee

I fell asleep watching Gigi on TCM, else I'd have responded sooner.

It's the truth - every time I've seen Kerry I've been struck by his sense of humor, which tends to be dry and sarcastic - perhaps too subtle for the media to pick up on? Maybe he needs more knee-slappers in his repertoire?

And every time I've read some thing about his
a) stuffiness
b) aloofness
c) lack of charisma

it's made me want to scream. The man has charisma to burn. I don't know if it's personal style or a north/south thing, but I admit that I find Kerry's style infinitely more appealing than that of Clinton or Edwards. TayTay, here's an assignment for you, if you care to accept it when you're back at work on Monday: I've been trying for ages to find one or two of those quotes from back in 2000 when the media was saying that Kerry was too charismatic to be Gore's running mate.

I'd like to plaster them all over GD and Kos!

[TayTay]

14. I'm on it.

I had some of those. There was a Dana Milbank article from when he worked at TNR. He wrote about Kerry and Gore and the kabuki dance that went on in '98. I'll refind it and post the juicy bits.

And we are not stuffy people! Geez, didn't anyone see Good Will Hunting? Cripes, we are very down-to-earth folks. And we like our Sentahs to be the same. Kerry would never have been elected to the high office he holds if he wasn't able to give as good as he gets. Never would have happened. (The fact that he is also a wicked good Senator is beside the point. Honestly, he did have to campaign in front of real live people and scrounge for votes. Didn't you hear my bumber sticker story? My St. Pat's story where he was dared to show up by the Herald and then did, to much applause. Does anybody read my posts? Anybody?)

Once more with feeling: Senator Kerry is a very nice guy. He has a very appealing personality. He is funny, honest. Swear to gawd. I am not making this up. I have tapes. Oy!

BTW, I love that movie. I am addicted to musicals.

[whometense]

15. Thanks! That would be great.

Then we can gleefully shove them in peoples' faces. :P

They had An American in Paris on before Gigi - movie heaven! I love musicals too. My daughter came home from her day at the BC football game (and attendant tailgating) all sunburned and exhausted, so it was a good night to curl up in front of the an old movie.

[jillan]

11. It would be interesting to have his handwriting analyzed.

The J and the K are very strong, large (ok - get your mind out of the gutter:P ) but the rest of the letters are almost like a straight line, until you get to that long Y.

Interesting - anybody know much about handwriting?
Maybe time to do a google.

[TayTay]

12. You can make out the first name

It very definitely looks like John. But the last name is indistinct. No 'r's are distinct. (A subtle nod of the the hat to Boston, no doubt, and our conservation of 'r's accent.)

Hmmm, let us know what you find out.

[jillan]

17. Ok - look at these samples, and tell me if you think there is a similarity

I won't tell you what it means..yet

1.
Revealed by needle point strokes on the top of the n and m, also in the h or i



2.

3.
Inflexible beginning strokes at the beginning of a word. The stroke must start at the baseline or below and remain rigidly straight

[jillan]

19. Ok - I'm whipped, My eyes are going buggy. So here's what they mean.

I think they all fit.

1. Lighting fast minds that are able to size up situations quickly, curious, impatient, intelligent.

2. Affectionate, passionate:evilgrin: , expressive and future-orientated.

3. ( This one cracked me up, all things considered.) This person is harboring anger, resentment, or hate towards something or SOMEONE.

[whometense]

21. hahahaha

Anger? Resentment?? Whatever could you mean??

Those qualities really do describe him. Very well.

[ginnyinWI]

24. here is the little bit that I know about handwriting

Forward slant= outgoing, well-adjusted, confident.

Small letters= intelligent, intellectual

The strokes above the line are higher and
bigger than the strokes below the line=
This is a person with high ideals, high-mindedness.

It all fits JK, doesn't it.

[whometense]

16. Okay, not to brag,

well, maybe a little...

but I have six or seven lines of his handwriting in my copy of A Call to Service. It would be fascinating to analyze because it's very idiosyncratic. Very regular, the lines are perfectly straight across the page, and the letters slant strongly and evenly to the right. The capitalized letters are very tall.

I'm sure that says a lot about him - but I don't know a thing about handwriting analysis. One thing I'd venture a guess at - he's got a very strong and decisive personality. No equivocation or wishy-washiness there at all.

[jillan]

18. tell me about the margins when he writes.

It's hard to research on the web, because most of what I found is "buy this for $200 and you can learn to analyze handwriting".

One site wanted to know about the margins on the sides, top, bottom, if the margins are even.

But I did find those 3 samples.
And they fit him. Well, as far as I can tell. Since I don't really know him, not as well as I'd like to;-)

One thing that was interesting, is that I found a sample of * handwriting. It is really sloppy, uneven. Now that handwriting would be worth analyzing!

[whometense]

20. The left margin is

perfectly even. The right is slightly less so. Does that help? It's not schooled old fashioned type handwriting, but it's perfectly legible.

[karynnj]

22. It is idiosyncratic

I had wondered if it was European. He was going to school in Switzerland during those years that you usually learn penmanship. Years ago, we had nanies for the kids from Norway, Britain, and the Neatherlands - all had penmanship that looked quite different from any I had seen here.

Considering how fast he was signing and how quickly, his signature is pretty identifiable - the signature he had on those November letters he sent out had all the letters in it.