Here's the recording of my call from Obama. Didn't have to spend a dime. I used Rob's idea about hooking directly into my PC with an old hand-held cassette recorder microphone I had. Just dialed up my answering service voice mailbox and held the microphone next to the receiver. It is a 2 MB .wav file so takes a bit of time to download. Hope it is in the right format for anyone to be able to listen. If anyone knows how to convert this to an MP3 file let me know, or volunteer to do it for me. :D I think all you need to do is right-click on the file link below, open in a new window, and the file will start downloading for playback automatically.


http://members.aol.com/butrflynet/images/obamacall2lynn.wav

Late last night I checked my telephone messages from the last couple of days. Usually there are none or lots of hang-ups from people dialing the wrong number. To my amazement, this jovial, deep baritone voice starts talking to me. For the first half a minute I was skeptical, thinking it was my brother playing a joke on me because of my obsession with Obama. But, lo and behold it was the real deal. Better yet, it was the live real deal, not the typical recorded message from politicians. Now I have to figure out how to make a recording of it and then get it on my computer so other people can hear it!

I was so thrilled and impressed with his personal phone call! I've replayed it so many times now I can almost recite it with each nuance that was in his voice. I am so damned proud! How did he know that a genuine phone call would mean so very much more to me than an emailed or snail mailed recognition letter? There's no way the cynic in me can discount it this time as some staffer writing on his behalf.

Until I get a recording for everyone to hear, a transcription will have to do. Just read it while hearing his voice as you read.

March 18, 2007 12:32 PM

Hi Lynn. This is Barack Obama. [long pause] Uh, I'm calling because you know we've been looking at folks who have been using mybarack dot com to organize in the community and uh I know you're one of them. I just want to say how much I appreciate your energy and enthusiasm for the campaign. The work you are doing to make sure we can win is being noticed and I hope you continue to get involved. I'm sorry I missed you, but please know I appreciate all that you are doing. [hmm] I hope you are planning to host a community gathering on March 31st and get your supporters to do the same. We really want to make a big push on that day. Talk to you soon. Bye Bye."

Damn, I'm glad I was on the computer and couldn't answer my phone. It would have been great to talk with him, but now I have proof for everyone to hear and I can play it repeatedly anytime I need a boost in my confidence. What a very nice, genuine guy!

I just saw the man at the rally in Oakland and I know he was up late at the Mark Hopkins fundraiser. How sweet of him to take time out to call and thank me, an unemployed peon who can't give much monetarily right now, but works her butt off to spread the word about his campaign with the hope that someone will notice and hire me.


I am bursting at the seams with pride and want everyone to hear his phone call to me. Please help me figure out how to get a recording of his message onto my computer. It's not a local answering machine that I can take and get transferred to a CD. It's a remote telephone company voicemail box that I have to somehow record and then transfer to a CD. The only way I know to do it is to purchase one of those telephone mikes that sticks on the end of the telephone and records what is being said onto a cassette tape. Is that still the best way to do this without having to spend much money? Unfortunately, there isn't a way to forward the message to someone else to record for me.

I can't believe it has been only a month since Barack Obama officially proclaimed his candidacy for president on February 10th. That's the day I went to his website and signed up for the Sacramento for Obama Group. Since then we had our first organizing meeting on February 22 where 55 of us introduced ourselves, formed committees and broke up into our respective committees to make plans for our future actions.




I'm on the Communications Committee for our group. We had a day-long meeting at Richard and Suzanne-Marie's house the following weekend in Placerville and determined who our targeted audience was going to be for our communications effort and how best to reach them.

Our campaign website was up and running and we produced our first Update newsletter which was emailed to 137 members on March 6th. Our first local gathering of Obama supporters at the Blue Cue in Sacramento on March 10th had more than 200 people in attendance, along with media from 3 local news stations.






Our second Update newsletter was produced as a special edition for the upcoming Rally with Obama in Oakland on the 17th. That one was emailed to 234 members on March 14th.



Our Sacramento group had our own t-shirts made but they didn't have any in my size so I ordered one, cut out the logo then sewed it onto one of my own red shirts. It turned out great and I was quite proud of my handiwork.

I was so excited the night before that I could not sleep. I finally got up at 3 am to read email hoping that would make me sleepy. After a 3 hour nap, I was up again at 7am preparing to head down to Natomas to meet up with the rest of our caravan. The first shift of 35 volunteers from our Sacramento group left Natomas earlier at 8am. Our group of 15 people departed at 10:30. We were sure glad we did!

I rode with Richard and Suzanne-Marie and Jason. The 6 vehicles had headlights on and Obama signs in our windows. Driving along the 90 mile route to Oakland, other cars were honking and waving at us as we drove down. I wondered to myself if they thought the Senator was in the car with us.

On the way down, Richard told us stories from when he was a teen growing up in Boston and how, on this day 49 years ago he had shaken the hand of another presidential candidate. He'd been walking down the street when he saw a young politician and his pretty wife in a convertible and reached over to shake the young Kennedy's hand. Richard was very excited that he might have the opportunity to shake another president's hand again on the same day, 49 years later. Hearing Richard talk is like listening to a more liberal version of my conservative dad. They share similar accents and magnetic storytelling abilities. And I just adore his wife, Suzanne-Marie. We've many similar interests and hobbies. Meeting them is just one of the many benefits of working to get Obama elected.



The place was already packed with volunteers from all around the Bay Area when we arrived. We were there early enough to get inside, chat with some of the national staff and find good spots for the rally. The gates opened around 2:30 and the crowd suddenly swelled. Waves of people kept coming. They were lined up several times around the surrounding blocks of Oakland City Hall. All told, estimates are that there were 12,000 people there.



Our little group was standing right on the wall of the ampetheater waiting for our opportunity to hold up our huge banner saying "Sacramento for Obama" when the Senator acknowledged us as one of the model grassroots groups in the country. We went crazy waving and cheering when we got our 3 seconds of fame.



And then after a very long day of standing around in our spot, the Senator started his oratory and the crowd pressed closer to get a glimpse of him. I now know what people feel like at those international soccer games and rock concerts where they are packed in like crushed sardines. In spite of that, I felt euphoric after Obama's speech. I was very happy to hear him voice some of the same things I've said to myself. Much of it was the same stump speech I've heard him give several times now, but each one is just a little different, with a little more of the current issues of the day and recognition of issues in the local area of the venue. He is such a great speaker that you really don't mind hearing it again. It still sounds fresh and still gives you goosebumps as you jump to your feet clapping and cheering.

We finally got back to Sacramento around 9 pm after a very long day on our feet. The weather was great! It was already warm when we left Sacramento and briefly turned to typical morning overcast coolness in Oakland. Just an hour before the Senator was due to speak, the sun broke through and out came the sun screen.



I was shocked to see the aerial shots of the size of the crowd. Where we were, we could only see the ampetheater and the first few rows of people behind us. I knew the place was packed, but did not know it extended out around the block.

The impressive thing to me is that Oakland is known for its high crime rate, yet there was not a visible police presence nor any trouble in the crowd. I saw an occasional uniformed officer on the outskirts. The volunteers and campaign staff did a commendable job of crowd control. It felt good to be back in the Bay Area, especially downtown Oakland where I worked for 18 years before moving to Sacramento. Lots of changes since I was last there. Oakland is finally recovering from the earthquake damage it suffered in 1989.

Today, my body is recovering from the swollen feet, stiff back, slightly sunburned face and neck and exhaustion, but it was well worth it!

You can read much more about the day's events on the front page of our website at www.sacramentoforobama.com

And we only have 18 more months to go to get Obama elected!