24 August 2024
The Democratic Convention is done and dusted for this cycle. While I didn’t watch any of it, it did bring back memories of another Democratic Convention, this one in New York in 1980. I had been working with the Carter Administration is a variety of ‘unpaid’ positions starting as Office of Protocol consultant, then Deputy Treasurer of the DNC, and finally as an advance man for the Carter re-election effort.
Most of us knew that Carter’s chances of re-election were shattered when the attempted rescue of the Iranian hostages went south in April of that year. Had that worked, who knows, but the country was suffering from lots of economic turmoil capped by an oil crisis that had Americans lining up for gasoline across the country. Not much of a record to run on, but run he did, and the convention was to be the kick-off for a new start to the campaign which was already in full swing.
As someone who had coordinated two of his campaign stops, I was asked to come to the convention and ‘handle’ issues that arose during the planning and presentations. On the last day of the convention when Carter was to officially become the candidate for president, I was asked to take care of Willie Nelson who would be singing the national anthem at eight that evening to open the final night.
We sent a car to his hotel to fetch him and his wife Connie and take them to the stage entrance of Madison Square Garden. I met them there and escorted them to the Green Room where there were light refreshments and some wine and beer. Willie was, of course, an icon and I wasn’t sure how things would go - but I must say, they went well. It was as if no one in the world had ever told him he was famous! He was so very natural and gracious and always smiling. He greeted me like I was an old friend, introduced his wife Connie and asked how things were going. He was relaxed, lightly stoned, and very interested in the campaign and how it all might turn out.
We had been talking for about thirty minutes when I got a call that Willie was to go on at nine o'clock rather than eight, due to normal screw-ups associated with the convention. He took it all in good spirits and asked if I might get them glasses of bourbon. Well, we didn’t have bourbon in the Green Room, just wine and beer, neither of which worked for them. I called my contact at the Garden, made my request for bourbon and was told it would take an hour or so. Unacceptable, especially in NYC where you can’t spin around with your arms out without hitting at least one liquor store. I had what they called an Everywhere Pass, meaning nothing was off limits and I could come and go as I pleased all over the Garden. I told Willie that I’d be right back and dashed to the nearest exit and sure enough there was a liquor store right across the street.
I bought a bottle of Jack Daniels, only because that is what my dad drank and it was the only bourbon I knew. I dashed back to the entrance where a guard was having a heated argument with someone in one of those ‘do you know who I am’ situations. It turned out that it was Dan Rather who had somehow misplaced his credentials and could not be allowed back in to cover the convention. I talked to the guard, showed him my pass and credentials and was told I could take Rather in on my authority. I summoned Rather over and said we could get in and that I’d take him to get new credentials. Instead of a thank you, he said this was a poorly run convention and berated everything. I turned him over to one of the other folks to let them handle this ill-mannered man.
Willie was delighted with the Jack Daniels and I admitted I knew nothing about bourbon but that my dad had two fingers of it now and then. Willie said, “well if it is good enough for your dad, it is damn good enough for me!” What a guy! He insisted that I had a drink with the two of them and I sipped away while he refilled his glass a few times. As my confidence and comfort grew I told him that there was a woman named Frances who was the hardest worker at the DNC and she seldom got any credit for all she did. I mentioned that she was his biggest fan and would be waiting outside the door as we went to the stage - just so she could see him up close. He asked how to spell her name and got a pen and 8x10 glossy of him from Connie and signed the picture to her.
It was finally time to take Willie out to the stage and sure enough Frances was waiting to see him. He looked at me and I nodded and he handed her his personalized photo saying, “I’m told you are the heart of this organization, bless you, Frances." With that marvelous gesture he took to the stage and the audience went wild as Frances wilted with emotion in the wings. If you were to ever watch a clip of his rendition of our National Anthem, you might notice that there are a few mangled words and some forgotten lyrics. Management takes no responsibility for any of these alleged errors, besides which, no one in the crowd seemed to care - after all, it was Willie Nelson!
