Four Corners: The story of four women, one bathroom and Pete Buttigieg

On November 1st, 2019, I experienced a life-changing event. No, I wasn’t abducted by aliens and no, my post-menopausal body did not suddenly produce a sibling for my son. I attended a political rally. In Iowa. In the rain. To most if not all of you reading this, that probably sounds more nightmarish than transformative. Let me explain…

Flashback about three months from the above date — several strangers in a Facebook group for supporters of Pete Buttigieg for President were discussing ways we could communicate to the rest of the country about the amazing candidate we had discovered. An Iowan in the group suggested to a New Yorker in the group that she come visit and help promote Pete for the caucuses. This was the spark that ignited what would be called Barnstormers for Pete. Inspired by Barack Obama’s impressive showing at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Des Moines in 2007, planning was now underway to show the country the scope of Pete Buttigieg’s growing grassroots support. Countless hours, tweets, Facebook posts, emails, and WhatsApp messages were used to galvanize people from all over the country. A website was created and t-shirts and other swag were designed, printed, and sold to raise funds. Buses were booked to transport Barnstormers to Iowa. Meetings and events were scheduled. And in a matter of just a few months, Pete supporters from all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico had secured transportation and lodging — all on our own dime and our own time — to show support for Pete at the now-titled Liberty and Justice Dinner in Des Moines. A movement was born.

I desperately wanted to attend, but as the parent of a newly minted college sophomore money was tight and the plane fare from Arizona to Iowa was a bit out of my reach. As a part of the grassroots leadership of Pete supporters in Arizona, I wanted to travel to Iowa to represent the Grand Canyon State and help show the rest of the country that Pete’s appeal spans all regions. I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to swing it when a truly amazing thing happened. A fellow Pete supporter from Indiana reached out to me through a Barnstormer organizer and offered to use her earned airline miles to get me out to Iowa. I was floored by the generosity of this amazing woman and her husband; after all, they didn’t know me from Adam. But as she told me in an email, “My husband and I are both former Republicans. We left the party in 2015 and I have not once donated to a campaign, gone to an event, or felt in any way shape or form connected to politics until Pete. I understand you’re an incredible advocate and well, my husband and I would like to make sure you get to Iowa.” This is what Pete inspires in people.

Needless to say, I was and am more grateful for this opportunity than words can express. Thanks to my fairy godmother and godfather I flew from Tucson to Des Moines on Halloween. Happily, I found fellow Barnstormers along the route at my stopover in Houston; the feeling was jubilant and the hugs were plentiful. We shared our “why Pete” anecdotes and our excitement about the weekend to come. We knew this was something special.

I had volunteered to be a captain for a regional “Pete-Up” to be held the following morning, so upon arriving in Des Moines, I Ubered to pick up some meeting materials before traveling on to my accommodations for the weekend — a four-bedroom, one bath AirBnB which I would be sharing with three women I had never met. We happened to find each other in the Barnstormers Facebook group and, upon learning that we were all looking for roommates for the trip, decided to go in on a place together. When I arrived at the house — a cute old craftsman type near downtown Des Moines — I was greeted with cheers and smiles and a long, warm hug. We were travel weary but couldn’t help but stay up late to get to know each other and share our Pete stories.

Our AirBnB clan consisted of Brianne, a young mom in her late 20s from Oregon who works as a caregiver for seniors; Genevieve, a self-proclaimed “professional volunteer” and 33-year-old mother of three from Connecticut; Brook, a 43-year-old restaurant manager/lead server at an upscale restaurant chain in Florida (who gave me the superb welcome hug); and me, a 52-year-old RN now working a desk job in clinical trials in Arizona and mom to the aforementioned college student. We literally came from the four corners of the country, bringing our different backgrounds and perspectives but feeling like we already knew each other. In a way, we did — we all support the same presidential candidate who shares our values and goals for our country. The rest just fell into place.

There have been many articles and posts about what happened next: November 1st was filled with regional meetings affectionately called “Pete-Ups”, a rally in the rain with singer/songwriter Ben Harper and Pete himself, a march to the Wells Fargo Arena with Pete and his husband, Chasten, leading the way, and an amazing night of candidate speeches and camaraderie. The energy for Pete was palpable and gave us all hope not only for the success of our chosen candidate, but for the country in general. The following day included a power walk to a downtown Des Moines park where Barnstormers heard inspirational impromptu speeches from our fellow travelers. And yes, there was even a flash mob.

I could go on about the actual events of the weekend, but the main thing I brought home with me was the knowledge that I wasn’t alone in feeling that the citizens of this country are in dire need of connection. I realized that there are thousands of people out there who share common values, goals, and dreams for the future of our country. And I was reminded that I belong to an extremely large family — the American family.

I am especially happy to have gotten to know my three new “sisters” — caring, smart, and funny women from different walks of life and different areas of the country who came together due to a sense of responsibility to help secure a better future for all of us. We talked, bonded, laughed, drank coffee, walked for miles, and successfully and without incident, shared a single bathroom (if that’s not working together, I don’t know what is). And who can forget the once-in-a-lifetime, only-in-Des-Moines experience of pulling up to a restaurant called Mullets — named after the fish with an homage to the haircut — in a black Mercedes Uber? (Side note: the food was delicious, the wait staff super friendly, and the Bloody Marys were to die for — highly recommended) The four of us have vowed to keep in touch and try to meet again at another Barnstormer event as well as keep the momentum of our Iowa weekend going in our respective states. We have named our little group the Four Corners representing not only where we traveled from, but also our belief that a Pete Buttigieg presidency will benefit and unite ALL Americans — from the four corners of the country to everywhere in between.