The Big Night

October 22nd, a late afternoon message on the machine tells me that Rebecca, of the Obama campaign, wants to verify when we close on the following day, as the Governor and US Senator of Colorado want to stop by the hotel for a “meet and greet” on their way to Steamboat Springs, where they will spend the night. The Governor and Senator of Colorado – she says this so casually and nonchalantly, as if it is a daily occurrence to have people of their esteemed ilk stop by your business. I listen to the message numerous times, wondering if in fact it is a prank; I don’t recognize the voice, I don’t recognize the area code, and I know for certain that I have no female friends that are capable of pranking to that level, so I decide to bite.

I called Rebecca back, and she indeed verified that the Governor and Senator were on a tour of rural Colorado – the part of Colorado that is overwhelmingly Republican, due in large part to the gun issue – trying to gain support for the Democratic ticket. The plan was for the entourage to eat dinner in Idaho Springs, then head west on Highway 40 to Steamboat Springs, where they had a morning get-together with the Steamboat Springs ROTC (Their target-market gun-clingers.) They wanted to stop in Hot Sulphur Springs, viewing it as a halfway point to “stretch their legs”. I’d think traveling in a 35 foot RV would give you the opportunity to continually stretch your legs – that’s why you’d take the RV instead of a green-themed posse of Toyota Hybrids. We’re talking about 3-ish hour trip from start to finish, Denver to Steamboat Springs. These same people would comfortably and without a complaint sit on a 767 for 12 hours on a fact-finding junket to China and not have 1/10th of the leg stretching room afforded in a 35-foot RV – oops, maybe in first-class they would. Anyway, the plan was to pull up at The Riverside at 8:15, meet with us and the locals for 30 minutes, and then RV-on to Steamboat Springs.

Imagine my excitement! Not only would we be hosting and meeting the Governor and US Senator of our newly-adopted home of Colorado, but the greater-than-gold opportunity for press and publicity that was way far beyond our financial ken. I envisioned the pictures of us with these two political icons, plastered on the front page of the Ski-Hi Daily News and forever hanging in our lobby for the future generations, adding a heretofore never written chapter to the history of this building – “Governor and Senator visit Hot Sulphurs’ Historic Riverside”. In fact I was so excited, that I began to feel the familiar burn of excess stomach acid slowly crawling up my esophagus. What would I say to a sitting Senator and Governor without looking like a total idiot, on-the- spot glibness not being one of my strong suits. Worse yet, would I have to make some sort of small speech to the assembled throng, a throng that would feature people who’ve cut a fat hog doing nothing but making speeches to throngs. The acid went from crawling to sprinting up my esophagus at the thought.

The next day was spent preparing the hotel and restaurant for the big night, as well as making a few well placed phone calls notifying some key Grand County contacts of the impending event. (I was told by Rebecca that the visit was low keyed with no press being notified, but I might want to let a few locals know so there would be someone to meet them beyond Julie, me and the dog.) Those notified included the local mortician/town hall gadabout, who also had close connections with the Ski-Hi Daily news, and a few friends in the business community, known to have numerous important contacts with those who would at least come and support my political side of the fence. (Did I mention that the RV-riding, leg-stretching visitors were Democrats?) It wasn’t long before the phone started ringing with queries from all manner of friends and strangers asking for the details of the evenings’ visit. I told three people, and that mushroomed into a call from the Mayor of Grand Lake, who heard about it from Mary, who heard about it from a lady at the Grand Lake post office. Yikes! Needless to say, that ‘speech in front of the throng’-fear suddenly resurfaced from the very bottom of my bowels with Vesuvian force.

As the time approached for the opening of the restaurant, and all of the last minute details were being attended to – including a protracted deliberation with myself over what shirt I should wear in which to be photographed for posterity’s sake – I took a phone call from Rebecca, the casual organizer. Rebecca casually informed me that the group had “way overspent” their time in Denver and subsequent stops, and wouldn’t be able to stop by the hotel until “way after” 10:00 PM, and was therefore cancelling the visit. She said this as though it were in fact just Julie, me and the dog that they had planned to drop in to see. I was stunned, devastated, really, really, really sick to my stomach. I had all of these people coming to the Riverside – what manner of fool would they make me out to be? I told Rebecca, “Oh My God, I’ve got quite a crowd on their way here as we speak, and what in the world do we do??” A casual “sorry” was about all she could muster. I didn’t offer, and she didn’t ask for, my support in the upcoming election; that, along with our photo op, our front page story and our credibility with the locals, went the way of the delinquent RV.