Elana & Elena's Blog - Archived Entry

Saturday evening, I received a phone call from Elana. "I'm sick," she said. "No, really," she said, "I have a fever."

"B-but E-E-Elana," I stammered, "We're supposed to go to Pennsylvania tomorrow and register voters. You are our trip leader."

"Elena," Elana whispered, and I could hear her voice straining over the telephone, "You will have to go on without me. You will have to call Wes at ACORN and say 'Elana is sick, this is Elena. Elena. Not Elana. Elena.' "

And so I did--which was, of course, very difficult, but as I got on the Chinatown bus for Philly the next morning, I knew she was thinking of us from the sickbed of her living room couch as she watched the Lifetime Movie Network in a fevery haze.

And so, me, Wilbert, and husband-and-wife dynamic duo Lewis & Tanya went off to Philly. PA-state captain Kirby met us at the bus stop and we all went over to ACORN to meet up with the hardworking Wes and then headed out to Norristown, PA, a city in Montgomery county, right outside of Philadelphia. Going door-to-door, I believe we registered 23 people in about two hours. And, just as importantly, we helped to further contribute to the sense of urgency and importance about this election. I really do have that conversation each time I do voter registration; so many people tell me they don't usually vote, but that this year, they definitely are. In all our lives, swing-state or not, it is so important to talk about the fact that we are voting this year, and why, and how this election is so very crucial.

Next trip to PA: August 21st. Hey there, tri-state area, wanna come?