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boys surrounding the park as well.”
    “Thank you.” They could clearly hear the lead band approaching now. They were playing “Camelot” to a 2-4 marching beat. It reminded him of when he was a kid and John Kennedy was president.

CHAPTER
3

Hudson, New York
Park Place and Warren Street
1:57 P.M.
    “H ello, Hudson!” bellowed Teddy Lodge. His huge smile broadcast his enthusiasm.
    WHUC, the local radio station, departed from weekend reruns of Dr. Laura and took the live feed. Another audio split went to Chuck Wheaton’s camera. And another to the amplifier.
    “Hello!” the crowd screamed back.
    It never failed. Even though he did it on all of his stops, this greeting always seemed spontaneous, and the next best thing to “the wave.”
    “Hello, Columbia County!” he exclaimed stepping back away from the microphone and inviting another response.
    “Hello, Teddy!”
    More cheers. More votes. Chuck Wheaton’s camera rolled on it all.
    When the crowd calmed down Teddy moved closer to the microphone. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on the Taconic Turnpike and passed by at 55 miles per hour. Well maybe a little over 55,” he added getting a laugh. “And you know what? I’ve gotta slow down. You have a great town to call home…a beautiful county. Fifty-five…that’s way too fast. From now on, I’ll take it just like we did driving up Warren Street. Slow enough so that Jenny and I can see your faces.”
    Of course, the audience loved it all. And Jenny really liked when he included her. She also knew it was calculated to appeal to the family values constituency.
    “Here you are…giving up your Sunday for us…coming out for strangers from Vermont. Heck, this isn’t even Veterans Day, and you threw us a parade!”
    “We love you,” a woman shouted from the crowd. Teddy threw back a kiss.
    “Sorry honey,” he said to his wife. Jenny nodded and the hundreds of people laughed.
    But Congressman Lodge had to get back to his point. Back to what he rehearsed.
    “Well, here you all are telling me something amazing. You’re willing to give me something I don’t take lightly at all…a right granted to you in the Constitution of the United States…looks to me like you’re willing to give me your vote.”
    The cheers erupted and the high school band, now assembled behind him, played “Charge.”
    Lodge let it go on for a minute then quieted everyone down. “Thank you. You’re making it a very special day for me.”
    The applause started again. Geoff Newman checked his watch. He’d probably never seen Lodge more in his element. And he really wasn’t even on the page yet. He hoped his man would deliver his prepared comments with the same intensity. He also hoped he’d pick up some time. The news media had deadlines.
    Lodge stepped back to the applause and brought it down with the palm of his hands. “And let me tell you, just believe in me, because I believe in you.”
    “We do,” the audience yelled in one voice.
    Newman smiled. This was the congressman’s cue that he would transition into his prepared remarks.
    “You brought Hudson back from despair, from abandonment by industry, from abandonment by your state, and from abandonment by your federal government.
    “You discovered that your future lie’s in the experiences of your past. Just look at Warren Street, reinvested with life…from what? From antiques. From people hungering for something to hold onto that has meaning…that’s lasted…that takes them back home.” He’d delivered a run at his favorite string, triplets. Now for the first payoff.
    “You transformed Hudson. Columbia County. Your home…your community. Now I ask you to join me. Because there’s a lot more out there to work on. We can all be part of changing the world.”
    Years ago with a line like that men would have thrown their hats in the air. Today, men, women and children chanted an almost deafening chorus of “Ted-dy…Ted-dy…Ted-dy!”
    Lodge felt he