The Perpetual Candidate for President

I was in Carl's Jr. today in Stockton when I made eye contact with one of those "interesting" people who people often say you shouldn't make eye contact with. Well, I was in a curious mood today (seeing as I can't seem to find a job in this city and I'm kind of starving, but that's another story), so I actually responded when he asked me what I did. I said I'm at the University of the Pacific, doing grad work in communication, but my MA and my stalled Ph.D. is in political science. Well, that's when I discovered who he was.

His name is Jerry Carroll, and he's actually a legend in our nation, although most people have no idea who he is. He's been running for president, according to him, about as long as I've been alive. He was telling me how he had a recent run-in with the Stockton Police Department, because they don't seem to "accept" that he's actually a perpetual candidate for the presidency. Anyway, he did hand me his business card (which is actually a red and green imprint on a 3x5 card) that backs up what he says, so this wasn't something he just made up on the spot.

So, for the next hour, I listened to him ramble on about what is important in this country, and his "contributions" to our country. In our conversation, he told me that he got rid of Nixon, in some way involving Watergate. He told me that he put Carter, Clinton, and I believe Reagan into power. I didn't exactly figure out how. He told me he's a surgeon, and he was involved in some really intriguing medical, yet obviously very top secret, procedures that involved the introduction of cyborg technology into his body. He knew EVERYONE at UOP (my school) and named names, like "Smith" and "that other guy". He mentioned Fitzgerald, a writer for the Stockton, and how Fitzgerald accidentally gave him coverage that wasn't supposed to be given (I was assuming Fitzgerald was some kind of opinion editor for the Stockton Record, which Jerry thought I was reading (note: I was reading the San Francisco Chronicle and the Sacramento Bee. Never really got into the Stockton Record as it's not all that impressive of a newspaper, kind of like the Kalamazoo Gazette.)). That coverage Fitzgerald gave was by running a cartoon of Jerry Carroll chasing after the other candidates, and somehow it got national syndication. It could be true. I have no way of knowing.

Anyway, as he was talking, I did find my mind wandering a bit because I've been looking for a character in my recent novel For the People, about a futile presidential run of a military veteran who has been ignored by both major political parties. The more I listened to this guy, the more I realized he was actually the character I was looking for. But I'll deal with that at another time, as I wouldn't use an actual person, but his stories certainly gave me the impetus to think about some other thoughts as well.

So, at home, I decided to search out this guy's name, and supposedly, he's been somewhat famous at doing what he's doing. I don't think anyone has ever actually sat down and talked to him before, because most people talk about him like this ghost character that no one has ever actually seen. I now realize that I've seen this guy MANY times at this particular Carls Jr. I'm probably going to run into him a lot of times in the future now that I know who he is.

Anyway, as I drove off to go check the mail in my PO Box, I saw him standing at the bus stop with his huge duffel bag, waiting for the bus. I really think this is an interesting person that I'm surprised no one else has ever heard of.

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