Hello, this is Tony Boehm, a member of the media department at PVS. I was lucky enough to get to go out on this leg of our bus tour and avoid the worst part of the Montana winter. I will be on the bus for about 6 weeks traveling from Chicago, IL to San Diego California and many stops in between.
I'll try to update you whenever I can on this very informal bus tour blog.
01/10/07, Appleton, WI
We spent today in Appleton, WI. We were parked outside a eco, non-profit, community coffee shop.
We had limited foot traffic, but everyone that came by seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say. Two television stations came by to do stories about the bus and I did my first TV interview. Nice.
Last night was my first night sleeping on the bus (I was able to stay with family and friends the first few days when in Milwaukee), which makes the whole thing more real. My colleague J.J. Is veteran, having already been on the bus a few months. He has to do all the driving too and we have over 300 miles to drive tonight. Hopefully I won't get us lost.
01/11/07 West Des Moines, IA
Wow, Appleton to Des Moines during a snowstorm is a pretty long drive. We were on the road for almost 10 hours. The phrase "Quiet. Democracy is being reborn", which is posted up in our office , crossed my mind while on some random Iowa state highway at 1:30 AM. There was nothing but quiet and darkness, but this is part of democracy, part of what we are trying to do. Hopefully the work we do, the people we talk, to will make the sacrifices worthwhile.
Our reception in Des Moines was pretty positive. We were at a civic education conference for high school students. We had a big rush before and after the conference, probably talking to 100 people and showing our video to 60 or 70. Again, most people we engage love the idea of Project Vote Smart. We just hope they use our services. And, most of the high school students loved our "Bringing the Truth to Light" pens.
I also did two more interviews for Des Moines TV stations. I think I'm getting the hang of it already.
The reality of living on a bus for 6 weeks is setting in too. The toilet doesn't work, the generator broke down, and I can't take a shower longer than a few minutes- but this is the way we roll, one city at a time. Looks like another 300 miles to drive tonight, but no snow.
