"It's just practice for them," the even-in-the-woods-wearing-suits people came to the campground to tell us.  "Okay," my Dad said.  Then he snarled and added, "I'm telling you right now, I haven't made my mind up yet."  He crossed his arms.  Sherry looked at him long and hard.  Then she said, "Yeah, we're still (i)undecided(i)." 

     "What should I do?" An MP asked his Supervisor.  The Supervisor shrugged.  Mama asked, "May I see that?" The MP just stared at her, then blinked once, and asked back, "The clipboard?" She (i)Mmmmm-hmmmm'd(i) like we heard a poet hum the absence of  (i)Suh(i) and (i)M'am(i).  "I just want to see what you people are writing down about us now." The MP said "No," but faced it her way to read.  Two columns: "W's" and "Others".  "May I make a suggestion?" She asked.  "You may."  She explained (i)It looks like you've got two columns there.(i). The MP (i)Mmmmmm-hmmmmm'd(i).  "Maybe," Sherry said, "You could add a third!"  She smiled.

     "A third?" The MP asked. 

     "Sherry, what are you doing?  We should get this place cleaned up." Dad called over. 

     "Why would I do that?" 

     "Not everybody feels the same about everything." The MP looked at the clipboard still facing her.  Just breathing and then, "There's no room."  Mama fished her astronaut pen from pocket.  She pointed it at the clipboard.  The MP moved it back and away.  "What would the third column say?" She put the pen to her chin and thought.  "Undecided," she decided.  "Because he said so?"  The MP asked mama.  "Yes, Sir, and because we feel like we're being forced to side with people we're not a hundred percent sure about." The MP thought.

     "It's just a political thing with all these people," he said as he faced the clipboard back at her.  She aired a line as the question, "Okay?" He couldn't really answer and looked down the little road.  Sherry's hand was shaking a little as she held a corner of it, drew a line next to the other columns, and labeled it "Undecided".  She put two checkmarks.

     "Fried is even better," a wife said of the piece of jerky her husband was nibbling on for two days.  "Want me to make pancakes?" He didn't answer.  "We usually have toast at home." 

     "She means she usually buys me pancakes at IHOP."  She so subtley huffed a sigh and a (i)that's true(i) I looked at her twice.  

     She re-folded a striped shirt with no collar and put it in a little suitcase.  "They said we'd probably feel bad and we do," he said.

     "Did you guys drink creek water?" 

     "Hey, there's nothing wrong with the creek water," a security person said through the open door.  No one said anything.  He said, "(i)On the Tennessee side(i)".  Another security person laughed then got up close to the joker and said, "Them thar's fightin' words in these parts." 

     "Whaddaya gonna do about it?" 

     "Settle down," a suit walked by and said. 

     "Write you up on a clipboard.  I hear that's pretty effective 'round here." The security person sort of mumbled.  A tiny voice on a wire said, "Wait. What?  Can you say that again?!" 

     "Do I have to?" The security person said real loud. 

     The suit walked back by. 

     "He's got something on his mind.  I can tell."  The wife said of her husband.  He was looking into the distance.

     The night before a small voice was outside a new tent for my mom and dad, "Srerry.  (i)Srerry(i)."  The zipper opened and Mom stuck her head out, "Is someone calling me?"  A thin woman in tight pants and heels bent down towards the head sticking out.  "I sink hee needs you." 

     "My husband?!  Is he out there with you??!!" She pulled the tent flap closed and made sure it was Daddy sound asleep in the sleeping bag and not the towel trick.  The towel trick was going around. 

     Sherry came back out of the tent wrapping a borrowed bathrobe around her even though she had her flannel pajamas on.  "Who needs me?" 

     "The Donald." 

     "Why me? Are you sure??" 

     "My husband, he's," she broke into a sob. 

     "Is he hurt?" 

     "He's hurt." 

     "Oh my God.  I'll wake Ed up." 

     "No, no, no." She reached for Mom's arm like it was a perch and she a bird.  Her well-manicured hands just barely landing there.  "He's (i)down(i)." 

     "We'll call an ambulance!  I know some health people here.  They've been helping me." 

     She shook her head (i)nooooo(i) and said, "In here," she pointed to her heart, "And, in here," she pointed to her head.  Sherry looked at her.  "Why me?  What can I do?"  The women looked at each other in the dark.  She started to walk away but Mom said, "Wait." And went back into the tent.

     Daddy followed Mom out of the tent.  Shorts hastily pulled on over his boxers and shoes on the wrong feet.  "How can we help?" 

     She moved closer again.  "Can you say The Prayer?" 

     "The prayer?" Sherry asked. 

     "I saw you with the necklace, saying The Prayer." 

     "Where did you see me?" 

     "By the water." 

     "Actually there's two prayers on this," he fished a Rosary out of his pocket.  "It's a Rosary." 

     "Rosse-airy." 

     "We'll say them right now.  It's the Our Father which I'm sure you know. And the Hail Mary." 

     "The Hail Mary!  Mary prayer, yes." 

     They showed the beads and the meaning.  One Our Father, ten Hail Mary's." 

     "Ten?!  That's a lot of prayers.  We need this." 

     "We'll say three.  Right now.  And Sherry'll write down the words for you." 

     They started a Rosary for the nation and for all the people trying to help.  "Especially the Donald," she prayed.