There is a reason that the good people who design highways labor to keep the routes straight and flat.  Any curvature, whether vertical (hills) or horizontal can wreak havoc with vehicles expecting to continue at high rates of speed without a line of sight to what lays ahead.

The approach to Cedar Rapids brings this into sharp focus as I-380 curves dramatically right, then left as it rises to cross the Cedar River and circle the huge historic Quaker Oaks factory.  One of the most dangerous stretches of highway in the country (I have this on good authority from a local sheriff, interview to follow) the resulting I-380 S-Curve was the perfect metaphor for my experience at the Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump rallies.

My long day yesterday resulted in about 3 hours of video and wonderful stories If you will bear with me, I will (like any good s-curve) go slowly and start at the beginning.

The most surreal aspect of the day started first thing.  I was capturing the line which formed early, when a young woman approached with a dog.  It appears that he had gotten away from his owner and she was frantically looking for him.  More, the young concerned woman was wearing a Trump/Pence shirt.  Instantly, the Hillary supporters in the area rallied to help.  Within minutes, a young man ran up, clearly delighted to find his dog.  It was a lovely moment, and I turned on my GoPro to capture it.  Please indulge me and watch the video below before reading on…

Curve one:  When I turned from filming, I noticed a camera crew to my left.  They were filming me, filming the scene.  This was a professional production crew of about 8-10 people.  Turns out they were filming a documentary and had staged the scene with actors.  A social experiment, they had also conducted the same scenario at Trump rallies with actors in Hillary apparel.

This was just the beginning of a day full or turns and surprises.

UPDATE:  On election morning I was getting ready for work with the TV on in my bedroom when I glanced over to see a dog on the screen.  I knew that dog.  So here you go friends, the ‘documentary’ was a commercial and now stands as living proof of my no-make up, bad Walmart dye job and cow pants.