Himes Walks the Walk, from Greenwich to Bridgeport
Greenwich Citizen, Thursday, July 03, 2008
By Patricia McCormack
WESTPORT - In his stocking feet Saturday, Congressional hopeful Jim Himes, 41, stood behind his empty size 12-W brown oxfords at 3:30 p.m. in a parking lot and mopped his brow.
Shoeless Jim had not lost his marbles.
He was just taking a foot-break mid-point in a 22-mile "meet and greet" campaign walk that had commenced at 7 a.m. in his Greenwich hometown and was scheduled to end at 9:30 p.m. in Bridgeport.
The lanky 6-foot-2 Democrat aims to unseat 11-term U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, R-4, in the Nov. 4 election. The somewhat low-key casual walk was meant to advance Himes toward that goal.
The Westport stop was at commuter popular Doc's Café, 575 Riverside Ave., across from DeRosa's Restaurant. Mopping brows in concert with Himes were about 25 campaign troopers walking with him through the Fairfield County towns.
The stop at Doc's Café was among nine scheduled during the trek to greet voters. Most everyone in the contingent wore yellow T-shirts with big blue words. On the front, simplicity ruled. JIM HIMES were the words.
The message was on the back. To wit:
"WALK IN A NEW DIRECTION. JIM HIMES."
"This is going well," Himes told the Greenwich Citizen as he unlaced his shoes at the request of a photographer who wanted to capture the historic oxfords on film.
Historic?
Yes.
So far as is known, the Himes meander through seven of the 17 Fairfield County communities in the 4th Congressional District from morn to night was a first on a campaign trail in the county.
"These towns have much in common," Himes said, adding he was pleased to have the opportunity to chat with inquisitive folks who joined the troop for a while in the various towns on a typically busy shopping day....
