From Jessica Capitani, Hershey, PA:

October 18, 2008
Rally at the Lancaster, PA, Barnstormers minor league baseball field.

Gov. Sarah Palin holding Caden Capitani, age 3.

Caden had come to the rally with his mom and dad, wearing a mom-made sweatshirt that read “Perfect … like Trig.” They were waiting on the field when Palin finished her speech and stepped off the stage to sign autographs. In Jessica’s words:

“We were at least 10 people deep in the crowd, from which she was separated by a barricade. I assumed we’d never get up close ourselves but pulled off Caden’s sweatshirt and begged for it to be passed to Sarah. People looked perturbed as they themselves were trying to get items autographed but as soon as they read the shirt, they passed it along.

“Finally it made its way to her hands and  she looked around to see to whom it belonged. My husband Frank had Caden on his shoulders and he waved to Palin. As soon as she saw us, she changed direction and headed our way. People stepped aside to allow us to approach her and my husband handed Caden to her after she asked to hold him.

“She looked genuinely thrilled to have the encounter as if this was the best part of the campaigning process to her … She said “This is my Trig in two years” and then Caden decided to give her a huge bear hug …

Caden has Down syndrome, and Jessica says she deeply appreciates what Palin is doing to advocate on behalf of people like Caden.

“No matter the politics, she is raising an awareness that counters the mindset of Tropic Thunder and other pop culture outlets. I would love the opportunity to hold Caden up for the world to see that he is loved, he is valued and our lives are full and happy.”

(Photo by Jessica Capitani, one of the authors of Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives.)

Editor’s note:

Readers, if you’d like to have your snapshots included here, please send them to patricia@patriciaebauer.com. We’re looking for shots of people with Down syndrome alongside Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain, Sen. Biden or Gov. Palin.

Please enclose the following information: Your full name and city or town; where and when the photo was taken; IDs and relationships of the people in the photo (and ages, for kids), and a few lines about the circumstances. Please also let us know where we may contact you. By sending photos, you are granting permission for their publication.

Earlier posts here, here, here, here, and here.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 5:30 pm and is filed under Campaign 2008, campaign snapshots, Down syndrome. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.