I left this note on my door because after my own recent excursion canvassing in Summerlin's gated condo complexes, I'm pretty sure the people who may still be coming to my door for Obama will need a little uplift.
Add to all the other reasons that developments like mine are kind of a drag is that it's really, really hard to find an address. God help the UPS guy, because the building numbers are sometimes missing, the apartment numbering system makes absolutely no sense, and the streets with names like "Britney's Garden Place" and "Crimson Canyon Vista" all blur together and thwart any attempt to get oriented. And also, pretty much no one is home. And also, a bunch of the people who are home are jerks. Even the prescreened "strong Obama" and "leaning Obama" ones the campaign told us to focus on that day (it was supposed to be just about getting out the vote rather than changing hearts and minds at this point) seemed not to really appreciate our efforts. Everyone we talked to was just kind of weirded out to have someone at their door. With the people who were basically civil, it was just an awkward exercise in seeing who would put an end to this unplanned-for encounter the soonest.
I complain but I also know how people feel, because a couple weekends ago I shot up like a light when I had a knock on my door at 3:00 on a Saturday. Definitely the only time since I've lived here I've had a knock without already expecting someone. So I did what any woman alone probably should do, and made sure the door was locked before warily asking "who is it?" (after, I might add, considering not answering at all and hoping the strange knocking person would go away). Of course, it was a couple of volunteers for the Obama campaign, and I was instantly embarrassed about my paranoia, even as the young woman at the door congratulated me on my precaution and said she was surprised more people didn't do the same. I immediately launched into my preemptive don't worry, of course I'm voting for him, and volunteering, and sending money and etc etc etc speech. Then the guy she was canvassing with made it up the stairs and he was super familiar, and then we both realized at the same time from where. The Kucinich guy! We laughed over what are the chances, and I gloated a little over how successful my initial pitch must have been if he's spending his weekends canvassing for Obama now. I hope it made their day a little easier to find a friendly, enthusiastic person at home, and most shockingly, someone with whom one of them already had an actual neighborly connection.
I can only assume a handful of other volunteers have been by since then, and so for them, a neighborly sign.
One other thing about my own door-knocking experience - you know full well it's out there but that doesn't make it any less lousy to see all those "foreclosed" signs on the doors.
