Republican National Convention (RNC)

The RNC was held just 7 miles from my house so I thought I would go down there and check out some of the activities around the Xcel Energy Center this past Wednesday. I parked about 6 blocks away and walked down St. Peter Street. Before I go any further with the story, I want to say that I do not subscribe to any certain party. I do not consider myself Republican or Democrat. I do not define myself by party lines and I consider candidates based on their qualifications and stance on key issues but I do gravitate towards the more democratic, liberal side. That said, walking down into all the action was amazing. I had such a flurry of emotions. I was excited, scared, nervous, giddy, intimidated, all at the same time. I didn't know what to expect. All of the people "protesting" did so quietly and without incident. I saw some people with big abortion pictures that were too graphic to photograph. I also saw a few people from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). MSNBC took over Rice Park with their broadcast stage. To the east of the park is the prominent St. Paul Hotel. Seeing the suits and ties walk out of there was interesting. They were all headed toward the south side of Rice Park where they were going into a gated entrance to make their way to the Xcel. I had jeans, a hoodie and tennis shoes on and I couldn't have felt more out of place next to these people. I feel like a 2nd class citizen. Nobody was making me feel that way but myself. These people reeked of money. These were not the jackasses on the road who drive nice cars who think they are somebody. These people were somebody, though they might still be the same jackasses on the road in their nice cars in some other part of the country. Just watching them walk towards the gate was fascinating. There they were in their thousands of dollars suits and dresses. They had the best eyewear and shoes and everything about their appearance was calculated. They were old and young. The old were distinguished and the young were hungry and determined to be like the old someday. I could see it in the young people's eyes. After watching the parade of money walk through the gates, I went back towards where the Great Waters Brewing Co. is and heard an "explosion" of some sort. I use the word explosion because I do not know what it was but a big, loud bang. I happened to be next to a group of riot cops when it happened and they went into full force marching together to get to the area of concern. I followed them, along with many but did not see anything. I think it might have been one of those flash grenades. I ended up walking back to Rice Park where I ran into a "celebrity". I saw Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, from Late Night with Conan O'Brien. After doing some research for this blog, I found out the guy that does Triumph is Robert Smigel. Overall, I had a great time experiencing something that I probably won't ever again. Enjoy the pictures and the video I took of the Dancing Democratic Divas.