How I met Gloria Steinem
Wow. This was the highlight of my life. I was working for Oregon NARAL as a hired political director through my consulting company, Strategic Consulting Group (SCG). I was in charge of their activities in Oregon. Problem was, that Nadar in 2000 had too many of the votes out there – over 10%!! Which was actually taking votes from Gore.
Desperate, I made a deal with Voters For Choice, and organization that she is a spokeswoman for. They would bring Gloria, and I would do EVERYTHING ELSE. I had 9 days to flyer Portland Oregon and plan a rally with all the usual organizations. Somehow, with lots of coffee and no sleep, I managed to get over 800 people in downtown portland in 9 days. The topic of her speech was “Why I am not Voting for Nadar”. She covered the supreme court (we see the results of THAT now a days) and a myriad of other issues.
At the end of the rally, I spent TWENTY MINUTES WITH GLORIA STEINEM on the back of her bus. We discussed feminism for my generation, and what motivates us, turns us off, and what our issues are.
It was the most amazing wo minutes of my life. She was small and frail, had just gotten over cancer, but she was WALKING HISTORY. You could feel the history radiating off of her like an aura. It was truly amazing to be in the presence of someone who had changed the lives of millions for the better.
