Bone-chilling adventure trying to cover Kamala Harris in Iowa [View all]

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Elena Schneider @ec_schneider
“I want people to know that there are good people in the world that would take a stranger in ... God put us on this earth for a reason. We should all take care of each other.”

Love this @ccadelago dispatch from Iowa:


BUCKINGHAM, Iowa—

___ We met serendipitously only a few hours earlier. The Shocks welcomed me to their home, my teeth chattering after I slammed my rental car into a snow drift on a closed road a few hundred feet away. The walk by this native Californian to their door — in 12-degree, blizzard conditions — was brutal: I was wearing a thin jacket, and no boots or gloves.

I was on my way to watch Kamala Harris shake hands with folks like the Shocks at a coffee shop in Waterloo; then on to a nearby Baptist church, and a town hall in Bettendorf. Janet wasn’t surprised the campaign scratched the coffee and church from its Sunday schedule because the roads were so dire.

The drive from Buckingham to Bettendorf is 140 miles; and the street where my car was stuck — the only way out — was blocked by a head-on collision on one side and an overturned semi on the other. While we got to know each other in their kitchen, Mike pulled on several layers of clothes, warmed up the truck and prepared his snow plow...

Anyone familiar with Iowans won’t be surprised by their generosity. Over 12 hours, they fed me; pulled my Nissan Maxima out of the middle of the road and into their driveway; and good-naturedly refreshed a website that monitors closures. Mike taught me some about farming, from the utility of corn crib barns to the process of “detasseling,” removing the immature pollen-producing bodies, or tassels, from the tops of corn plants.

read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/25/kamala-harris-iowa-1183599

Christopher Cadelago @ccadelago 21h21 hours ago
Thread: So, I ran my car into a massive snow drift on a closed road in Buckingham, IA. Got stuck and had to trek in the snow — 12 degrees; though it felt like -8.

An extremely nice couple let me in; at 9 a.m. And I’m still here.

They own a plow, and after several minutes of digging the car out of the snow in a blizzard, ended up pulling the car out of the middle of the road and parking it in their driveway.

I’m learning about corn crib barns, farming, and how a local Mexican joint cuts its tequila with everclear.

They put on a pot of chili. There’s been some discussion about watching the Oscars.





UPDATE: Had a missed call. Checked the vm, and it was from @KamalaHarris. “Chris, it’s Kamala,” she said, letting out a big laugh. “So I hear you got the Iowa version of AAA. Good thing you have that chili friend. We’re going to miss you in Bettendorf, but I’m glad you’re safe.”
4:43 PM - 24 Feb 2019