Supporters brave rain to see Obama
Posted Oct17, 2008 at 11:19 AM
The temperature was below 60 degrees, and the rain looked like it was blowing sideways, but by 8 this morning hundreds of people were standing outside the Roanoke Civic Center. Many were clutching umbrellas to fend off the rain, and others were digging their hands into their pockets to stay warm.
The line to see Sen. Barack Obama started at one of the civic center entrances facing Orange Avenue and wound around the edges of the parking lot.
A man from Rocky Mount who was standing on the stairs outside the entrance said he got to Roanoke about 6 a.m., parked his car blocks from the civic center and waited with his brother until the gates to the center were opened at 7 a.m. Then they ran to the gate.
"I want to shake his hand," explained Roy Flynn, who stood next to his brother, Michael.
Pat Cargill of Roanoke showed up in her red pickup truck at about 9 a.m. with three large mocha-flavored coffees -- one for herself and two for friends who were already waiting.
Cargill said that her friends were "a lot closer to the door than I am" but that she didn't want to stand in the rain all morning.
"I know I can still get in," said Cargill, who wore a thick black jacket and a gray hat. "Or at least I hope I do. There are a lot of people here."
-- Jorge Valencia | Photo by Jared Soares
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