Tuesday: Italian food, two key DNC people and more

We met on Tuesday with Ricky Kirshner, the executive producer of the DNC today, and also with Leah Daughtry, who is responsible for the convention's spiritual outreach.
My question to Daughtry was this: How has the onset of the convention, and Barack Obama's message of change and unity, affected your prayer life.
Daughtry, who is pastor of a Pentecostal church, responded: "I pray more."
She laughed.
She went on to explain that religion was a central element in her formative years. Her parents made sure that she and her siblings were actively involved in their church, and focusing on their education second. If it required bringing homework to church, she said, that was an option. But those two things, she said, are fundamental to understanding who she is today.
Her faith was challenged, she said, when she moved from her home in Brooklyn to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. It was the first time she had lived away from Brooklyn. Dartmouth, she said, is the home of "Animal House." Thing was, Daughtry's family didn't drink. She'd never seen a keg, and was taken aback by fraternity culture.
She had to make a determination: Did she hold her faith because it was what she truly believed, or because it was simply what her parents had taught her? In the end, Daughtry said, she came to accept her faith for herself.
Now, Daughtry said, she relies on prayer to connect with the one who gives her strength. She prays every morning, she said. She prays at her altar, or outside, or in the shower. It keeps her centered, she said, particularly in a stress-filled convention environment, where people bring their problems with them. Interaction is crucial to getting things done, and you have to get past people's bad days and get to work.
Daughtry quoted Scripture on several occasions in her talk, including Matthew 7:1 ("Judge not, that you be not judged," New King James Version), and James 2:20, which reads, in part, "faith without works is dead." She had a Bible in her bag, she said, but she would refrain from taking it out on this particular day. She wasn't in church, she said.
Many students' questions centered on Obama's work in community outreach programs. Her message was one of "putting your money where your mouth is," saying you believe in helping those around you and then pursuing community activities that benefit others.
Finally, she stressed that her goal, to use her analogy, in steering the convention ship, is to make sure that all people are represented, those who are of a particular faith and those who are not. She stressed, though, that the United States offers freedom of, not from, religion, a distinction she said is important. In talking about abortion, for example, she said that it is the party's role to provide a safe haven for abortion rights supporters and also those who don't support such rights. The bottom line, she said, is respect.
She's always voted Democratic, and perhaps, she said, her party hasn't always done a good job of getting the message out that many of its members are people of faith. But that is one of her aims now. And it is her faith, she said, that has driven her political focus.
"The reason I'm a Democrat," she said, "is because I'm a person of faith, not the other way around."

After the talks this morning, we had our small group discussions (including an extended and sometimes heated — in a friendly way, mind you discussion over one professor's plan for reforming the primary system), and then packed up to board buses for our tour of Denver.

On our trip, we visited Red Rocks. Professor Lee Joliffe, of Drake University in Iowa, told me that she saw John Denver there in 1972. It was great, she said, to hear him sing "Rocky Mountain High" in Colorado. She said not much had changed since that concert — the awning over the stage may have been slightly extended, she wasn't sure — but she was disappointing to find nary a mention of the artist in the museum beneath the rocks.

Afterward, we headed past Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos and, at one time, the Colorado Rapids soccer team. It's also where Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver his acceptance speech next Thursday. We drove down Colfax for a ways, past the Fillmore and the state capitol building. We saw the Brown Palace Hotel, where the Clintons will be staying, and the Westin Hotel, where Obama is rumored to be staying for the convention. Afterward, we got dropped off in downtown, and a bunch of us MU kids made our way over to a nice Italian restaurant, Cafe Colore, where, for $9, you can get a really fantastic pizza and frequent refills of water, which we were craving.

I've been surprised so far just how much the altitude affects me after living in Colorado for so many years. I guess I've become more acclimated to Missouri. I noticed that my lips got really chapped when Julie and I were here camping in June, and it just seems like the climate is so dry. Then again, the Midwest has seen an incredible amount of rain this summer. Maybe things will change here soon.

After our restaurant trip, we made our way over to FedEx Kinko's, where several of my MU colleagues placed business card orders so as to have them ready ahead of the convention. Then we went over to the Tatter Cover bookstore again and hung out. I called Julie and talked to her outside for a while, and then I went in and read from our textbook for a few minutes before leaving. I hadn't realized the TC would close by 9 p.m. That seemed kind of early, but we just decided to browse 16th Street some more. We went to Goodtimes for a few minutes and talked before making our way back over to the bus stop near Union Station.

Now I'm back in my dorm room and getting ready to shut it down for the night. Wednesday will be big, because we are scheduled to find out with whom we've got credentials. I'm nervous, but I'm praying for the best, and I know it will all work out great. Keep an eye on my blog and Facebook for updates as the day progresses.

Oh, and I got to talk to my good buddy, Wes, today. He called me while at dinner. We talked for a few minutes. He and his family live in the Denver area, and we're hoping to get together for lunch at some point and, hopefully, church services. It will be good to catch up.