Meeting the Man, the Myth, the Next Governor of South Carolina...

Let me first say, welcome to my new blog and thank you for reading my first blog entry!

I have been volunteering for Andre Bauer's campaign for a few months now. I have been a supporter of his for some time now, even before I began volunteering, and I must say, if I ever had any doubts about him, those doubts were silenced when I had the honor to meet Lt. Gov. Bauer during his 24 hour Announcement Tour. And the story goes....

It's just another Manic Monday.. I wish it were Sunday... Ah, my Monday morning was starting as usual. Get up, look in the mirror, scare myself, and then make breakfast. And by make breakfast, I mean put some cereal in a bowl. Milk is optional. I open my can of morning Pepsi (Pepsi is my coffee) and begin to check my email and Facebook. As I turn on my phone to check my messages, what is that I see? A text from the Political Mastermind himself, Matt Robinson. For those of you who do not know, Matt works for Andre Bauer's campaign and I can honestly say he is very passionate about his job and about his candidate. Anyway, I digress... A text? What did it say? It was Matt (aka Mastermind) asking me if I could pick Andre and his peeps (peeps=political posse) up at the Florence airport and take them to Francis Marion and back to the airport. My hands began to shake, sweat started to creep up on my brow.... Here I was already nervous about meeting Andre in person for the first time at his Florence event, but now I was going to be in the same car as him?!? Let me say this.. I am not the type of person who gets nervous about meeting anyone. I am confident enough in myself that I don't let people rattle me. But Andre Bauer is not only a candidate for Governor, he is THE candidate. He is a man I admire, respect, and look up to. So now that the question is posed, what do i do now?...... The saga continues....

A million thoughts began to run through my head. My car is too small, I haven't vacuumed it in weeks (possibly months), am I a good enough driver? So I decided to call my friend who works at the Florence airport and ask about their courtesy van. As he said it was available and that I could use it, I sighed a deep sigh of relief. That was one less worry. So I called Mr. Matt and told him I could do it. If any of you have ever had the pleasure of speaking to Matt Robinson on the phone, you know that he has so much energy on the phone he can instantly put you in a good, enthusiastic mood! Made me start to wonder something.... What would he be like in person?..... So I went on in to work still nervous and excited and hungry (I was so excited I didn't eat my cereal). As noon crept closer and closer, my cubicle became smaller and smaller (not that it was that big to begin with, but you get the point..) I decided to leave early that way I could get to the airport and gather my thoughts and regain my composure. As I pulled up to the terminal, it all became much more real... I started to ask myself... Where are my smelling salts when I need them? I think I am coming down with a case of the vapors....

I decided to check the van out beforehand to make sure it was gassed up and clean (What would be more embarrassing than for the future Governor to sit on an old candy wrapper or step on an open bag of Doritos?) Ok.. Gas.. Check. Half full... Clean... Check.. Smell ok? Ug, not so much. The van smelled of a cross between a thrift store and a homeless man (How do I know how a homeless man smells?... No comment...) I panicked..What do I do? I don't have time to get the van detailed... And unless Andre's posse wanted to sit on each other's laps, my car was out of the question. So I did the next best thing. I ran to my car, almost tripped, saw a squirrel run up a tree, and then I grabbed my bottle of Curve cologne out of my car. I ran back to the van (squirrel looking at me as if I was a crazy man) and proceeded to frantically spray the inside of the van with my cologne. I stepped back for a second and then I got in the van to smell. As I took a big whiff I thought, hmm, not bad. Now it smells like me if I lived in a thrift store. Oh well, it will have to do...

I decided to wait in the lobby so I could see the plane as it landed. I felt like I was in a movie. I kept looking around for James Cameron to yell, ACTION! So I stood at attention by my chariot (aka smelly van) and waited in anticipation for Andre's plane to appear. What is that I see? A bird? No... A weather balloon? No... A hallucination? Possibly... But no... It's Andre's King Air landing. No single engine for this man.. He is flying in style in a King Air. One of the greatest turboprops ever. And then the icing on the cake... As the door lowered, a member of the airport staff ran over and placed... get this.... a red carpet down for Andre and his people to step down on. I literally died. I thought, wow. I am in the big time now! So as his staffers got out one by one, I waited. Andre was on the phone so he stayed on the plane a little longer. Which made the suspense even worse. I was tapping my foot so hard I thought it was going to fall off! As his staffers entered the van, I decided to go ahead and hop in the driver's seat and start the van. Still no Andre. After I turned the key in the ignition, I turned around and there he was, out of nowhere. Andre Bauer...

Everything after that was a blur. He shook my hand and off we went. Andre and his staff were busy bees during the ride to FMU. Between their texting, phone calls, and radio interviews, I was able to catch a glimpse of what life is like for a candidate. Especially a candidate as busy as Andre Bauer! We arrived at Francis Marion and Andre and his staff went inside. I parked my trusty courtesy van and went inside. As I was entering the building, who was at the front door? None other than the Mastermind himself... Matt Robinson. Now I have been dealing with Matt a lot recently since I have been volunteering for Andre's campaign and I must say, it was an honor to finally meet the man himself. He was as I expected. Smartly dressed, upbeat, and full of energy. Andre did his thing inside, shaking hands, talking to voters and giving the people the opportunity to see what a gentleman he is and what a solid and viable candidate he is. Before I knew it, it was over. Time to take them back to the airport...

As I pulled the van up to the massive King Air, I felt both relieved and exhilarated. Relieved because the whole thing went smooth without any snags, and exhilarated because, for the past two hours, I was a part of something much bigger than myself. Here I am, someone who lives an average life, works a regular 9-5 job, and drives a Hyundai, and yet for a brief moment, I was part of Andre's world. A world where time flies and every moment is filled with important decision making and even more important personal interactions. As Andre and his staff shook my hand and one by one got in the plane, I was not only smiling on the outside, but on the inside too. Why? Because I just had the opportunity to see, up close, the future of South Carolina. Andre Bauer is not only a great man.... He is me... He is you... He is..... South Carolina. Thank you Andre and Matt for giving me that experience and I, like so many other South Carolinians, will be standing proud on election night when Andre wins and becomes the next Governor of South Carolina. And not only will I be smiling, so will South Carolina, for she will have someone in charge who will protect her and work tirelessly to ensure she has a bright and prosperous future!