I’ve been on the Seawalk and strolling the community for many months now, but door-to-door canvassing for hours a day in the last weeks takes the campaigning to a new level. Some of my learning:
- You are interrupting people, even if they’ve been laying on the couch (sometimes more so). Be grateful if they answer the door and deeply grateful if they want to talk about anything, much less what you want to talk about.
- Running for 44 years made me think it would help my stamina, but that’s not entirely so. Walking muscles function on a different body than running muscles, it seems.
- At the doors, count the consecutive number of dogs that bark but won’t bite. Your findings will elevate their reputations.
- If you like a pair of walking shoes at the start of the campaign, rush back to the store and buy another pair.
- Hydration is more important than food, until food is more important than anything, until rest beats them both.
- When you have to canvass a hilly district, start at the top.
- When you start at the top, don’t mistakenly park there–park at the bottom and get your canvassing companion to give you a lift to the top. And yes, give that person a lift back to the top later, or be ready to get a new companion.
- Equip your light backpack with your literature, two reliable pens, back-up reading glasses if necessary, and a small beverage to sip between stops. A large beverage is heavy until you’ve consumed it, say no more.
- Download an app to tell you where your car is parked. Better still, remember it.
- Above all, revel in the beautiful setting of the municipality, the pride people take in their homes and gardens, and the remarkable wisdom of the crowd.