Kind of A Shock !

Joie de Blog is in Philadelphia attending the Buyers Market of American Craft - a well respected craft wholesale only event that has been running for over 20 years. And of course we've enjoyed it thoroughly- time spent talking with old friends, finding new work from new exhibitors for the store, meeting new people - even if that excruciating traffic jam on the New Jersey Turnpike was kind of soul numbing, it's been a very good trip so far. The Buyers Market has been run for years by a woman named Wendy Rosen. I never got to know her beyond a hello, but she's been a constant on site presence so I was well aware of who she was. Last year, she decided to hand the organization over to her daughter so that she could run for the House of Representatives in Maryland. But she was here at this show and people were talking about her in a kind of hush-hush way. I finally asked someone what was up - it turned out she had been arrested this fall for voting twice - in two national elections - in 2006 and 2008. In Florida and Maryland. And was forced to drop out of the race last fall at the last minute, allowing a Republican win in MD. Call me naive - but the news boggled my mind. For one, because there seemed no choice between just plain unbelievably stupid - or on the other hand, mind bogglingly sleazy and arrogant. Not a good choice - and to be honest, it's hard for me to believe that a woman who put together the Buyers Market and ran it succcessfully for twenty years, then put together a viable run for public office is . . . stupid. Looking up the story on line I saw no apologies only rationalizations and denials and I really wonder how she can bear to appear in public. We human beings are curious creatures indeed!