Ask the girl who shook Jack Layton's hand

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Yes, that’s me. :cool: :smiley:

(To the Dopers outside of Canada going “huwha!??”: Jack Layton is the leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada, a Very Big Bigwig on our Parliament Hill.)

The NDP launch was set up in Hart House today, around nine in the morning or so, and I spent a good half-hour running around for one of the assistants–a sweet lady with a constantly ringing cellphone and a cup of coffee: setting up chairs, putting up signs, moving cables out of the way. There were clusters of techs laying out microphones and teleprompters, security guards posted in the hallway…

Students were gathering around nine-thirty, so I hung out with them in the corner and munched on a cookie while we talked. Reporters were flocking to the cameras, getting out Blackberries and notebooks, and there was a lot of noise and buzz and fever pitch excitement going on, and everyone was keeping an eye on the big orange and green bus parked right outside.

And then there was a tidal wave of applause and hoots and hollers, and he walked in! He shook another person’s hand first–and then mine, and the camera bulbs were flashing and all the videorecorders were pointed my way. And he had this huge smile, and I was frozen in this petrified “oh my God, my hair, my teeth, my shirt, aaaagh” moment.

So Layton got up onto the stage and did his speech, and we all whistled and hissed and clapped and cheered along in time. The reporters babbled over each other and shouted to ask questions, some speaking in French, one in this thick, rich Australian accent.

If this gets on TV, look for the girl with the messy brown hair and red T-shirt hovering in the back :smiley:

Afterwards, and this is the part that still has me freaking out, a guy from the Canadian Press came up and asked me questions. I was completely tongue-tied. I still have no idea what I was saying. I don’t think there was anything at all quotable in there, and I’ll never see it in print, but whoa, Canadian Press!

It was an extremely cool moment. :cool:
(Oh, and I met a really adorable, funny guy named Sean, but I didn’t get his number or his email. :frowning: )

2

Way to go, Kyth!

:: remembers having lunch with parents at Ed Broadbent’s apartment in Ottawa when he was a kid ::

3

All right, Kyth! Here’s a kiss for you…kiss

I shook hands with Vinod Khanna once.

4

Bump:

I didn’t get quoted by the Canadian Press guy in the newspaper–much more photogenic and interesting and quotable people were instead. :smack: :frowning:

On the news blurb that night, though, you could see me in the background once–and my left shoulder in a close-up!
Sunspace, your parents knew Ed Broadbent? (I heard he dropped out of the race recently to care for his sick wife…)

kisses Anaamika back Wow, Vinod Khanna… :cool: when’d that happen?

5

Believe it or not, he came to a party hosted by my cousin. He’s a distant, distant relative of my family, amazingly enough. He was dancing, and I danced with him for a few minutes, and clasped hands with him. I remember thinking his hands were HUGE. Now that it’s over ten years later and I have a dirty mind I can’t help but wonder what else was huge. :wink:

Sorry you didn’t get quoted but you’ll always be a celebrity to me.

6

So how was the handshake? Firm, limp, sweaty palms?

My brother was telling me about an episode of “King of the Hill” when Hank gets to shake George Bush’s hand. He was so excited, but was shocked that the president had a limp-fish handshake; sent him into a depression for weeks. :stuck_out_tongue: I’m guessing that didn’t happen to you.

7

Hehe, I remember that one. :wink: No, it was a fine handshake, very firm, very professional. You could tell he’d been doing it a lot for the cameras.

I wish he’d spoken to the students a bit after the press conference. Mostly we were just there to nod, cheer, holler, and look pretty.

8

Congratulations :slight_smile: I spent a fairly good part of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in the back seat of a car with him, and he and Olivia joined us for Pride 2003 (shakin’ it like they just don’t care).

9

My mom worked with him in the elections back in the seventies when he was running for MP for Oshawa-Whitby. This was before the Toronto Sun became the auto-workers’ paper of choice and they started voting conservative.

(I remember helping to screen-print election signs… fluorescent orange and black, anyone?)