Reporter's notebook: Roller coaster week

Utah delegate Kelvin Davis has had a roller coaster couple of weeks. His mother passed away last week, and a son was born a few days later — just before he headed to Denver.

So he had to arrange a funeral, handle relatives coming from out of town, take care of his other children while his wife was recovering from birth, and try to buy some back-to-school clothes and supplies.

"I almost missed my ride" to Denver, he said, as he was making those last minute back-to-school purchases. "We were so busy we didn't even name the baby before we took him home from the hospital. I was dealing with the funeral and people coming from out of town."

They did come up with a name for the baby later: Hiddekel, a biblical name for a river in the Garden of Eden. "I hope he will bring the water of life to the people he will touch in his life," Davis said.

Davis, who is black, said he decided to come to Denver despite all the upheaval to honor his mother. "She was so excited when I was elected a delegate," he said. "I can't express the thrill she had for Obama. She had a sign for him in her window. She was really inspired by him and in tune with him."

He only wishes his mother could have lived to see the formal nomination occur, because she knew firsthand how far black Americans have come. "She worked hard to put herself through college. She struggled as a single mother," he said. "She was the first African-Amercian bus driver for the Utah Transit Agency years ago."

He said she liked Obama for his message, and not his race — and she had seen black candidates before. "Jesse Jackson ran as a black candidate (for president). Barack Obama ran as a candidate," he said.

Mecham humor

THE POPE'S WHAT?: Arizona National Committeewoman Carolyn Warner was riding a shuttle and chatting with some Utah reporters about former Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham.

She lost a governor's race to Mecham but said they were still friends. Mecham was a native Utahn and a Mormon, but had a reputation for stupid gaffes and silly insensitivity. She tells a story, and swears it true, that adds to that lore of Mecham.

"We were friends and he told me one day that he and his wife were going to meet the Pope (John Paul II)," she said. He was concerned about what language skills were needed and said, "Tell me, do you know if the pope's wife speaks English?" Of course, popes are celibate.

The ghosts of bunnies past

The Utah delegation has been holding its daily meetings in a ballroom on the 15th floor of the Warwick Hotel where it is staying. It has a colorful history: it was once the Playboy Club of Denver.

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