For as long as he could remember, the voices were there.

[saltpoint]

Always there, present, around him, always within immediate range.

And they whisper with vivid clarity, and he finds he must listen to them. They are intermittent but urgent, they speak only to him, they know what he must do, they are real.

They come unbidden. No precipitant prompts their instruction. And each time, except when his staff hogties him to the SUV luggage rack, he hears, and then he follows.

Into the fogs of near midnight, sometimes all night, frequently over several days' time, following the whispers. Like invisible, fog-shrouded sirens they lure him and he drops whatever it is he is doing to listen, then to follow. He will do their bidding in automatonic obedience.

He has walked out of meetings, he has walked out of PTA conferences, out of Tire Kingdom showrooms. He has left a dinner table of Vienna sausage and tater tots and bublegum ice cream to follow the voices.

Down the streets of Columbia, down entire highways to Charleston and beyond, to Macon, Memphis, and once all the way to Massilon, Ohio. Through rain, snow, ice, hail.

He will return this time, like all the other times, his socks and undies stinking and stuck to his skin, his angular face unshaven, his clothes disheveled, his soul desperate. So far the media don't know, or they know and aren't letting on.

Secure that no one is worried when he ups and wanders off, he stands in the shower to bathe and freshen up, the shower head washing away the dust and confusion of the previous few days.

I will be president, he says to himself. I will be.

- - - -

reposted in honor of that Governor-Gone-Wild, Mark Sanford.

[babylonsister]

1. Whoa. And I thought it might be a blonde in Mexico.

How poetic! How funny! :rofl:

[saltpoint]

2. LOL -- I think the blonde in Mexico would garner better ratings!

:toast:

[imdjh]

3. WTF?

[saltpoint]

4. Ok, I'll play.

Wyatt's tired frog.

Wanda the Falconress.

When Time flies.

Etc.

[imdjh]

5. That was just very strange, and I don't understand it.

[saltpoint]

7. I will offer that Sanford is the protagonist. The narrative attempts context

for Sanford's whereabouts in reference to his recent days' disappearance.

At the conclusion is an assertion by Sanford that he will be the president. This despite obvious auditory hallucinations which draw him from his home state to distant venues.

[BlooInBloo]

6. GO GALT!!!!!! IT'S YOU AND TED NUGENT MAN!!!!

[saltpoint]

8. LOL! Hiya, BlooInbloo.

[BlooInBloo]

9. :) Where's the fudge?

[saltpoint]

10. We're outta fudge. How about some peach cobbler? We got plenty of

peach cobbler.

[BlooInBloo]

11. yay! Millions of peaches! Peaches for me!

[ddiver]

12. The crazies should be taken off the streets for their own benefit.

Diagnosis and treatment saves money and lives.

[saltpoint]

13. Hi, ddiver, and welcome to DU.

I don't know what Sanford was up to. It is mysterious to be sure, and appears to have involved airplanes and secrecy.

We'll see if the National Enquirer pursues leads in this story or if their journalistic zeal only is applicable to Democrats.

I think Sanford is nuts on issues alone. I'm hoping this odd weekend of his will destroy any chance of his ever living in the White House.

[ddiver]

14. I have had road trips. But I have never been Governor.

[saltpoint]

15. Same here. If the guy was a free agent, I don't care where he goes

or with whom or for what.

But he's a daddy to 4 younguns, a husband to his wife, and the governor of a state.

There's a good handful of variables we haven't been told in this story so far.

[ddiver]

16. I still wouldn't be judging.

[saltpoint]

17. He's said to be back in the office tomorrow. Another post on DU

tonight theorizes that he may have gone to Hazelden, a substances rehabilitation center in Minnesota, although it was mentioned that a lot of those programs take longer than just a few days.

There are the long-shot "He's mentally ill" posts, including this thread, plus the sexual dalliance threads plus a bunch of others.

One report had him hiking, another fishing. Still another suggested it was Nude Hiking Day, or something like that, and that Far Right Republican Family Values Governor Mark Sanford went out for 4 or 5 days of naked hiking.

We'll see how it all shakes out.

[SammyWinstonJack]

25. Their 'journalistic' zeal does only apply to Democrats, especially only to Democrats who might rock

the corporate boat ie Spitzer/Edwards.

[saltpoint]

26. Indeed. Nicely put. Spitzer and Edwards were Democrats who aimed

at the corporate hog slurping away out back.

Their sexual infidelities, while not a recommended practice for relationships and marriages, appeared instantly pursuable to media while Republican Senators can baste wienies in airport men's room stalls and don diapers with hired hookers and have relatively minor coverage.

[Hekate]

18. Only 2 Recs? Let me be the 3rd -- This is quite good!

:hi:

Hekate

[saltpoint]

19. Hey there, Hekate. Good to see you.

Happy summer solstice.

[Hekate]

20. Happiness from Solstice to Solstice back atcha

:hi:

[lamp_shade]

21. 4th rec. Thoughtfully written, OC.

[saltpoint]

22. lamp_shade. Hi. Haven't bumped into you in a while.

And thank you.

I hope all's well your way. I hope you have plenty of free hours to spend. And I hope you don't run into a naked Governor Mark Sanford merrily hiking through your city. (The naked part isn't the problem; the Governor Mark Sanford part is.)

[lamp_shade]

23. All is well and yes I spend a lot of time here, mostly reading.

Thanks for asking. It's good to be remembered.

[lumberjack_jeff]

24. He'll be back with Oscar in tow.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=663920

[saltpoint]

27. So Sanford walks through the door of the house today upon his return from

Argentina -- Argentina -- and I'm guessing he may have met with a terse greeting.

The wife says -- what? -- "Welcome home, Mark. Always a pleasure."

"Thanks hon. Say. Did you guys do anything special for Father's Day?"

"Why yes," she tells him. "We burned your effigy in the back yard. The neighbors were impressed."