August 4, 1968
by Janine Stephenson
I ran into Baby John at church this morning. We very nearly ran into each other in the communion line. I was crossing the pew he sat in. We motioned to each other that we would talk after mass.
When I met him outside, I told him that I couldn't believe he was still in this awful city. I thought he would've gone back to California by now. Heck knows, if I was living in California, I would spend most of my time there. He said that being in D.C. was still worthy since there were so many poor people just miles from the White House. How could Lyndon Johnson sleep at night? I said he probably sleeps quite well, since thousands of boys dying overseas doesn't seem to bother him all that much.
Anyway, Baby John said that he is still with The Campaign, albeit on a local, volunteer basis. They have all sorts of activities for 18-year olds this summer. Along with his poverty work, Baby John became involved with voter registration campaigns and phone banks. I thought that was quite admirable, considering how disgusted he was with our D.C. headquarters work.
I asked him if he planned on going to Chicago. He said most definitely. I told him that Becca and I are waiting for our campaign assignments, but that we were excited to go. No matter what they wanted us to do, we would do it.
We agreed to meet again, in a few days. Just before saying goodbye, he hugged me and apologized for dropping off the planet. I was glad to see him too.
