MONROE EVENING NEWS WEDNESDAY, AUG. 16, 2000
________________________________________ Dreams come true Seeing President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore was something many people never thought they'd see in Monroe. By CHARLES SLAT Evening News staff writer Thousands of area residents contributed sweat equity to the Gore for President campaign Tuesday on a hot and historic day that wilted people and campaign signs alike, but made a bunch of little dreams come true. Monroe was transformed into a star-spangled town for the occasion. The Monroe County Courthouse was awash in red, white and blue bunting, American flags fluttered everywhere, and a huge flag hung over E. First St. Some people wore red, white and blue shirts or star-spangled hats. Veterans, retirees, school kids, little old ladies and moms with their babies braved 90-plus temperatures under a sometimes merciless sun that baked their brows and the bricks underfoot. On a day when you could buy votes with bottles of water, umbrellas sprouted to ward off the worst of the sun. But many in the crowd, especially Democratic Party faithful, stood fast and held onto their dreams, waiting for a glimpse of the President Clinton and Vice President Gore during the first-ever visit of a president and vice president to Monroe. One of the day's little dreams came true for Donald and Maeve Poirier of Monroe, who came to the rally with a campaign sign bearing Mr. Gore's photo. They attached it to the headrest of their disabled son Ryan's wheelchair and waited patiently with the crowd to see their candidate. When rally emcee Paul W. Smith called to the crowd to display the best sign, Mrs. Poirier fruitlessly tried to call attention to Ryan's - the only one with a photo of Mr. Gore. After the speeches, Mr. Gore plunged into handshaking with the crowd and Mrs. Poirier worked her way to the front of the line. "You've got to come see my son in his wheelchair with your campaign sign," she told Mr. Gore. Mr. Gore told her to move a barricade and bring him forward. She maneuvered the chair up to the front of the line and Mr. Gore stooped down, patted Ryan, 13, and said "Thank you for campaigning for me." The boy beamed. His mom wheeled him back to the sidewalk near First Presbyterian Church. "You got to meet the next President of the United States, Ryan," she told him. Up the line, another little dream was in the making as Dave Drouillard waited for Mr. Gore to pass by. "I'm president of the biggest UAW Local in Monroe County and we support you," said Mr. Drouillard, president of UAW Local 723, which represents workers at the Visteon Automotive Systems plant in Monroe. He shook the vice president's hand heartily. "Thank you very much," Mr. Gore said. "I appreciate it. You guys are great." "It was fantastic," Mr. Drouillard said of the brief encounter. Not far away, Liz Noll of Toledo, waited for Mr. Gore with her 8-month-old daughter, Kelsey. Another dream, another request. "Can I take a picture of you with my daughter?" she asked. "Sure," he said. "Will you hold her?" Mr. Gore hoisted Kelsey, dressed all in white, while Mrs. Noll snapped a photo. "She's cute," Mr. Gore said of the baby. "I didn't think I'd get that close," Mrs. Noll said later. "He was very patient. I was surprised. "She'll be a Democrat now," Mrs. Noll said, smiling. "I can't wait to tell my husband." Nearby, Jay Daves of Ann Arbor was in a dreamlike state after grasping the Veep's hand along the rope line separating the crowd. He turned away, looking at his hand and muttering to himself: "I'm not going to wash my hand now." He sported a T-shirt saying The First Fan. It had a photo of long-haired, 30-year-old Bill Clinton, then attorney general of Arkansas, wearing a University of Arkansas Razorback fan hat, shaped like a hog's head. It was Mr. Daves hat and a photo he snapped of the young Mr. Clinton while at a 1977 Razorback game. He's since made postcards of the photo - one of which he gave to the President on a previous occasion - and he's sold the photo repeatedly to various publications, including Sports Illustrated. It was the first time he'd shaken Mr. Gore's hand. "I'll give him my vote," said the University of Michigan custodial worker. Nancy Wilcox of Ann Arbor also achieved her goal Tuesday and shook the Vice President's hand, stretching over two other people. "I wanted to see him in person and shake his hands. I've got long arms and I sort of wiggled my way through," said Ms. Wilcox, who described herself as a liberal Democrat. But there wasn't much wiggle room during the rally. Loranger Square was packed and a sea of faces could be seen down both Washington St. and E. First St. Gore-Lieberman signs were distributed well before the candidate arrived and by the time Mr. Clinton and Mr. Gore appeared, some had been folded into hand-fans. Bottles of Monroe Mist, the city's brand of bottled water, sold like hotcakes. Before long, volunteers were passing to the crowd plastic cups of water, filled from insulated dispensers. And a parade of attendees, from infants to the elderly, was taken away by paramedics due to heat-related illnesses. Majorie Ihrig of Monroe was among the first to succumb. "I don't think IÕm going to be able to stand here," she told her daughter, Darlene, before slowly wilting to the ground. Before an ambulance arrived, city firefighters took her blood pressure, cooled her skin with water and put an ice pack under her neck while those in the crowd took turns fanning her with an "Al's My Pal" sign. She was among dozens to be overcome by the heat. But for the survivors, the wait was worthwhile. "This is the greatest day in the history of Monroe," said Geoff Fisher of Monroe. "Gore's the man." He wore a button that said "Read My Lips. No New Texans." And Mr. Poirier, a former Democratic Party chairman, said Mr. Gore's chances are very good, especially since he picked Joseph Lieberman as his running mate. But he said pollution issues concerned him the most. "If for no other reason, I'd vote for him." He said he comes from a long line of Democrats, though. "My grandmother would kick her own kid out of the house if she found out he was voting Republican," he said. "When she died, I pinned one of those Carter peanut pins on her lapel."