On the Road to Spartanville … Oh, Wait, No, Better Make That Spartanburg

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DUBLIN, Va.
We pulled into a McDonald’s here about 9:40 a.m. so that I could hop on the WiFi and get some work done quickly before gassing up the econo-rental (a black Ford Probe, $86 for the weekend) and heading back out on the road to Spartanburg, S.C., for tonight’s Republican presidential debate at Wofford College (8 p.m. ET, CBS).

Mrs. Other McCain let me bring our 12-year-old son Jefferson along for the trip, because every eighth-grader should be helping their dads cover presidential campaigns instead of lounging around all weekend playing “Call of Duty.” Jefferson’s career plan is to be elected president of the United States in 2044, but I’m afraid he’ll be haunted by the gaffe in this video:

Spartanville? That blunder may have looked rehearsed, but it was actually spontaneous, as was his clever recovery. And of course, no child of mine could ever forget The Five Most Important Words in the English Language: Hit the freaking tip jar!




Addendum: While we were driving down the road this morning, we heard “Freebird” on the radio and Jefferson declared that when he becomes president, he’ll make “Freebird” the national anthem. I shared this on Twitter — via cellphone, while driving 75 mph abd steering with my knee — and Jon Henke responded:

You WILL stand for 9:06 & you WILL hold your hand over your heart for 9:06. Or you’re an unpatriotic America hater!

And frankly, if you don’t hold up a lighter every time you hear the national anthem, we’ll question your patriotism.

Hell, yeah.

33 comments

  2. Good luck and drive careful. My daughter is on her way here to SC from Virginia. She’s going to Florida with me and brother to help us sell Christmas trees again this year. Last year, she was one of our best workers and I expect she will do the same good job again this year. We leave Monday, so I’ve got a lot of stuff to get done between now and then.

  4. Honestly?  I hate the damn song.  When I was kid in high school in Panama City, FL when this song came out (way back when??? I’m not saying!), they played it every single hour for weeks on end…when you throw in the talentless kids w/a guitar attempting to play it in the halls…you end up with a lot fo people who would rather not hear it ever again…

    Rich Vail
    Pikesville, Maryland
    The Vail Spot dot Blogspot dot Com

  6. Funny how RSM and his kids are the models for the Weasleys. 

    As Ron Weasley said:  “Hearing voices no one else can hear isn’t a good sign, even in the wizarding world.”

  13. “every eighth-grader should be helping their dads cover presidential campaigns”

    Deep, sorrowful sigh.

    I really hate this locution. I don’t care where it comes from, I hate it with a cold and vengeful spite. This should read, “every eighth-grader should be helping *his dad* cover presidential campaigns.”

  21. I had a ticket to their concert in Gulfport, Ms. that they never made it to, while I was stationed in Biloxi, Ms. back in ’77. Wish I still had that concert ticket.

  22. I’ll have to vote no on Free Bird.  But I’ll buy stock in Miller/Coors just in case.

    See, a national anthem has to have some ass kicking in it, or at least something that shows the aftermath, or the greatness of our heroes.

    Tell you what, you got two choices of tunes that are both played at the same, rock-ballad speed, with rock-band instruments behind a powerful lead vocalist:  Free Bird, or God Bless The USA.

    Which one do you go with?

  28. If you’re gonna go Skynnyrd for the anthem, go “Still unbroken” or “God & Guns” off the disc of that name.’

    See, I is yoothful at heart.  I didn’t write ‘album.’

  30. Discs are fading away. Now it’s downloads. So I’ve gone back to using “album” since that also means “collection.”

    I haven’t bought that new album. How is it?

  31. Discs are fading away. Now it’s downloads. So I’ve gone back to using “album” since that also means “collection.”

    I haven’t bought that new album. How is it?

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