OUR AMERICA
THE GOVERNOR
by
DAVID BASSETT
OUR
AMERICA
THE GOVERNOR
© 2017 David
Bassett
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, scanning, or other, without the prior written permission of the
author.
Chapter
1 – The Lynchpin
“We must never settle for
mediocrity. It is our duty as citizens
of the great state of Ohio, to lead the way into the future. It is our heritage to lead, not just the
United States, but the entire world into dynamic, societal change.
“Here, in Dayton, we are
reminded daily of the courageous work of two of the world’s most amazing men,
Orville and Wilbur Wright. These two
brothers, bicycle shop owners, defied the supposed leaders of their time. With very little money, but huge hearts of
determination and unfettered imagination, these two unlikely heroes were able
to build a craft, heavier than air, that they successfully navigated into
airborne flight.
“Who among us, who among our
children, are the next heroes that will defy conventional wisdom? Who will be the ones that will rise from
obscurity to change the course of our entire world? Today they may be scientists, postal
carriers, or inventors working in their garage.
They may be aspiring writers or filmmakers. They may be those we give no
notice because they simply blend into the fabric of our society.
“We should, and we must, give
everyone a chance. Across and down the
street from us is the Stanfield Cemetery.
Buried there, are some of the greatest citizens to walk the streets of
Dayton. But, let’s be honest, buried
with them are a cavalcade of dreams and ambitions that were not realized.
“As we look around this city,
we see many shops, storefronts, even factories, that have closed. These all stand as silent reminders of a
successful past that we have failed to build on. Rather than be monuments of success, they are
haunting specters of a life now gone.
“Have we truly come to accept
death of the past as a truth of our future?
Have we given up on the heroic efforts of those before us to simply go
through the motions as the world passes us by?
“Where are the dreams
today? Where are our generation’s
version of the Wright Brothers, those who do the impossible?
“I have found them and they
are here. Here, at Rhoades Elementary, I
have found the shining faces and openly optimistic minds of the young people of
Dayton, Ohio. They have not learned that
there are limits. They still hold within
them, the great expectation that they can improve, change, and drive the world
to be a better place.
“As I was visiting in Mrs.
Carden’s fourth grade classroom, I asked if the kids would share what they
planned to do when they grew up. Rather
than hear responses about careers, they gave me results-based answers. From that group of youngsters, I heard
answers like, “I will cure cancer”, “I will build a flying car”, “I will help
the homeless”, and “I will walk on Mars”.
“In these difficult economic
times, it is easy to become discouraged.
We can abandon our dreams because the present reality seems so limiting.
But, I challenge you, my friends, that
because of the times we are in, we must dream more. We must challenge ourselves and our
thinking. We must stop saying that it is
impossible, but to claim that all things are possible.
“As your governor, should you vote
for me, I will never stop dreaming. I
will never settle for ‘this is the best it can get’ mentality. We are a great people and if you have any
doubt of that, then you should spend some time in Mrs. Carden’s classroom and
see the expectant and hopeful spirit of our next generation.
“Join me. Let’s dream together. We can see everything that we believe should
be, become our reality as we work together.
Let’s make our dream of a better future our driven purpose. Let’s not settle for anything less, anything
short, of our very best.
“Who will join me?”
A thunderous applause broke
out that far exceeded the size of the crowd.
Bob was surprised. The magnitude
of the crowd’s response exceeded his own expectations.
As he had been prepared to do,
Bob reached over and took Dixie’s hand, raising it upward. The crowd responded with even greater shouts
and applause.
Wade moved next to Bob and put
his mouth near Bob’s ear.
“Great job! We need to meet with the press. Remember our preparations.”
While keeping his focus
forward on the crowd, Bob gave a slight nod before letting go of Dixie’s
hand. He moved his own hand to her waist
and began to gently guide his pregnant wife towards the stairs leading off the
platform.
Dixie gave little
resistance. Bob sensed that she was also
surprised by the level of excitement from the crowd. They had already given a series of speeches
and each one was received well, but this one far exceeded the others.
“Joanne has really brought us
to another level,” thought Bob.
Just two days ago, Wade
introduced Bob to Joanne. He shared that
she was going to be added to their team as a speech writer. Wade gave her a glowing recommendation.
Bob was learning to trust Wade
more. As his campaign manager, and not
to mention a cousin to Dixie, Bob was beginning to understand that Wade would
take on his shoulders many of the things that Bob thought he might have to
handle on his own.
“Wade,” Bob turned to his
campaign manager after they left the platform and entered an outdoor atrium
that would soon be filled with members of the press, “you have found a real
jewel in Joanne. Her writing is
inspiring. I’m ready to take on the
world, thanks to her words.”
Wade smiled and nodded.
“She really delivered a
knockout on this first speech, but don’t worry.
I have vetted her. Trust me, she
has only just begun.”
Bob stood to the side chatting
with Dixie. A small crew that Wade had
assembled, set up a podium and a small sound system. Several dozen chairs were set up for the
press to sit.
“I sure hope this doesn’t take
long,” Bob spoke softly to Dixie.
Just as the thought occurred
to Bob, Wade wheeled a cushioned office chair over for Dixie.
Her cousin gingerly took Dixie’s arm and
guided her onto the chair.
“I’m eight months pregnant,
Wade,” Dixie said with a sarcastic tone, “not disabled.”
She managed to give Wade a
smile. To Bob, it was clear the warm
weather was beginning to affect her.
“Maybe we should have waited
before having a child,” Bob thought.
“Then again, it isn’t as if I had complete control of that.”
This thought caused Bob to
grin as he saw the irony in the current situation. Less than two years ago he had decided to run
for mayor of Hilliard, at Dixie’s urging.
He had to leave a job where he had a lot of control. Now, he was finding it more productive to let
others have that control. His new idea
of control was choosing to give it to others.
As his mind was running
through these thoughts, his attention was diverted away from Dixie onto an
awkward looking man about fifteen feet behind her. The man walked slightly hunched over and
appeared to be wearing a janitor’s uniform.
“Something looks out of
place,” Bob thought. “We have spoken at
several schools here in Dayton, and I have never seen a janitor, at least not
one in a uniform.”
Bob found himself giving his
full attention to this janitor. He
watched as it appeared as if the man were putting something, possibly a small
package, into the trash receptacle next to where he was standing.
“How odd,” thought Bob. “You usually don’t see a janitor using a
trash can. They are usually emptying
them.”
Then another detail caught
Bob’s attention. The man’s hair didn’t
look right. It seemed twisted or
crooked.
“He must be wearing a
hairpiece,” Bob reasoned. “I wonder if
anyone has suggested he fix that.”
The janitor looked Bob’s
direction before making eye contact with him.
The man appeared to be startled by the eye contact as he quickly looked
away and headed off at a quickened pace.
“Do you remember our power
statement for this press conference?”
Wade’s voice arrested Bob’s
attention away from this strange man.
Bob began to speak but
immediately realized his throat was dry.
Her intuitive nature displayed itself, as Dixie held up the water bottle
she was holding, so Bob could take a drink.
“Still taking care of me,” Bob
smiled as he looked to his wife.
“What would you do without
me?”
Despite the heat and her
pregnant condition, Bob found Dixie’s voice to be as sweet as ever.
“Let’s pray that I never need
to find out,” Bob said with a measure of conviction.
After taking a swallow from
the water bottle, Bob refocused his mind and turned to Wade.
“Our power statement is
focused on how to fund our education initiative. Like we were able to do in Hilliard, we will
establish a coalition of business, banking, and educational organizations to
aggressively address the needs to advance and resource the programs we are
proposing.”
“Good,” Wade answered. “You will be asked about this.”
“But, Wade,” Bob cocked his
head to the right as he squinted his eyes in a questioning gesture, “how do you
know that? I mean, you have been right
on so many things, but how can you know, in advance, that this will be asked?”
“Look, Bob,” Wade placed his
right hand on Bob’s left shoulder, “you know that I have been doing this for
years. During that time, I have made a
lot of connections and built up a solid network. One of those contacts will be asking you that
question, at my request. Besides, we are
already at a school, a natural place for the question to be raised.”
“Lillian Wilhite from the
Cincinnati Enquirer?”
“Yes, Bob, Lillian will be
asking and I want you to be prepared,” Wade leaned in. “This gives you visibility to the entire
press on this issue that we have made the lynchpin of the campaign. This issue alone, could possibly win you the
election.”
Bob lowered his head, breaking
eye contact with Wade. Taking just a few
seconds to process Wade’s statement, he looked up.
“I’ve got this, Wade. No need to worry.”
Wade smiled and raised his
right hand from Bob’s shoulder then gave him a slight tap before lowering his
arm. Walking to the podium, Wade
adjusted the makeshift microphone before leaning in.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank
you for your time today. Mr. Griffith,
or Bob, as he prefers to be called, will be here for just a few moments. I’m sure you can sympathize with his wife
Dixie over the heat and humidity of the day.
So, we will keep this brief and take only a question or two.”
Immediately, the majority of
the twenty or so press members, raised their hands to be called on by
Wade. A few of them were even more
aggressive and started, with upraised hand, to shout out their question.
Wade quickly stretched out his
right arm, pointing towards a blonde reporter in the second row.
“Lillian.”
The woman quickly stood and
announced herself, as was standard press protocol.
“Lillian Wilhite from the
Cincinnati Enquirer. Mr. Griffith, or, I
mean, Bob, how do you plan to improve the conditions of our schools and
educational programs at a time when the state’s economy is so flat with little
indication of improvement in the near future?”
Wade turned towards Bob,
giving him a slight smirk that the press members could not see. He held out his right hand, gesturing for Bob
to stand at the podium in his place.
Bob moved to stand behind the
podium. His mind was working to quickly
organize his thoughts into the most impactful words. He shifted his weight from one foot to the
other before leaning into the microphone.
“Well, Lillian, I am glad you
asked that question. I…”
A sudden flash enveloped the
outdoor venue. The deafening roar bombarded Bob’s ears. The force of the concussion threw him
downward. Bob could feel himself falling
when suddenly, everything went black as he hit the ground and lost
consciousness.
