It was another combative day in the battleground state of Missouri.  As I was turning into the plant gate this morning I saw McCain’s plane (Boeing 737) parked across the tarmac.  The picture above is from the Internet.  He had a rally planed at New Town in St. Chuck county.  New Town is a planned community that has been built out near the floodplain.  It survived this years floods, but I doubt that it is high enough to survive another 1993.  Local news had him speaking in front of a ticketed crowd of 3,000. 

At lunch time Barbara and I did our usual walk around the parking lots.  On the way back we noticed a lot of activity around McCain’s plane.  One of the engines was running, I’m guessing  to provide internal power.  The St. Louis County Police’s helicopter was circling.  A police car had blocked the intersection up the street and the plant guard had closed the gate.

Sure enough McCain’s caravan came down the road and pulled out on to the tarmac and surrounded the jet.  There was one large bus, I guess for the press, eight plain white vans, a couple of black SUVs and a limo, plus a few cop cars.  The plane had front and back staircases.  Most of the people got on through the back. 

At this time the cop up the road had opened up his intersection and come down the road to the plane.  The plant guard opened the gate and cars started coming in and out.  Also, the smokers walked out the gate.  As of this last summer smoking on company property has been banned.  So the die hard smokers walk out the gate and smoke on the curb.  Today one smoker decided to walk down the road to get a closer look at McCain.  The cop from up the road came back to shoo him back to the curb.  Eventually, after most of the other people had boarded, what looked like McCain went up the front stairs.  At this point we decided it was time for lunch.

On the news today, I heard Dick Cheney was also in town for a private fund raising luncheon, in Clayton, for one of the local congressmen.  I missed seeing his Death Star though.  Tonight, Bill Clinton is due in town at Kirkwood High School, where Anne did her student teaching.  I think we’ll pass.

There are no more scheduled visits to St. Louis, but that may will change.  Come tomorrow we have only two more weeks to go until the election.  Oh Lord, please deliver us until then.

OBTW, today’s header is from Dulles airport in Virgina, from two weeks ago.  Oh boy, airport art!