Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Obama Mama

I've put off the telling of this story for far too long. It is now time.....

Return with me to November 2008, when economic doom was not yet imminent and New Hampshire wasn't threatening to secede from the Union. The good old days.

Shortly after Barack Obama's historic November 4 election, I was on a train leaving DC for the wild terrain of suburban Maryland. And who should join me in my train cubby but three Kenyans en route to charming Baltimore. I enjoy talking to strangers, especially foreign ones, so we introduced ourselves and started chatting. They were justifiably excited about Obama's victory. And I was excited that they were excited. But after only five minutes of conversation, it was apparent that Boniface was determined that I would become his blonde bride if I but accepted his advances (which included offers of African safaris and pilgrimages to Obama's deadbeat dad's grave.) I smiled and tried to let him down easy. He was not deterred. He decided to pull out the big guns. And this is what he said.

"Everyone I know who comes here, they marry Americans! I love American women! American woman, Kenyan man,they make Obama!"

I laughed. This relative stranger was offering me the chance of a lifetime. I could give birth to the future leader of the free world, with his help of course. I could be an Obama Mama! Tempting. This is not where I piped up and informed him that I didn't vote for Obama. I just smiled, waved farewell, and got off at my stop. Haha. I love public transportation!