Maybe it was the full moon the night before, it being a blue moon, or maybe it was his girlfriend Zoey telling him he would never amount to anything, but the blathering idiot was out walking when came across a bumper sticker that read: “Pro-Accordion & I Vote!”
He saw one, then another, and another. It was the parking lot in front of a small storefront, but each of the cars had that bump sticker on it.
The blathering idiot looked up and in the store front window was a banner that said the same thing, and below it was a hand lettered signed that said: “Come join the party.”
It was the middle of the day, but the blathering idiot could use something to lift his spirits, and maybe a party would be it.
He opened the swinging front door. The bell above the door tinkled.
Everybody inside was hunched over his or her computer. There was one accordion in the room. It was up on top of a bookshelf.
A young woman with a clipboard trotted up to him. “Are you here to join the Accordion Party?”
She stepped even closer, the bottom of the clipboard pointed toward him. He surmised that either meant he was supposed to sign the paper on the clipboard or she was using it to shove him back toward the door.
“This is the Accordion Party?”

The blathering idiot saw them on several cars int he parking lot, and banner in the window proclaiming “Pro-Accordion and I Vote!”
“Pro-Accordion,” she said.
She pointed to the bottom of the sheet. “You need to sign here and print your name, address, and way to contact you there.”
“Why?”
“We have to keep track of our volunteers.”
“For the party?”
She nodded. The name tag on her turquoise blouse said: “Hi, my name is Lydia.”
“The accordion party?”
“The Pro-Accordion Party,” she said.
“There are no snacks?”
She shook her head.
“No music?”
“If we win.”
“Win?”
“The campaign.”
“Which one?” he asked.
“The big one.”
“Okay. Who’s your candidate?”
She sighed. “Our original candidate dropped out. Said he couldn’t fit it in around his busy schedule of playing weddings and polka dances, graduation parties and such.”
The blathering idiot had never heard of accordion music at a graduation party, but it had been a few years since he graduated and maybe things had changed.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“For a candidate?” she asked.
The blathering idiot nodded.
“We’re looking for one right now. Would you like to be it?”
He thought about that for a moment. Zoey had challenged him to do something.
“But I don’t know how to play the accordion,” he said.
“Doesn’t matter. You can learn as you go.”
“But I’ve never run for elected office before.”
She shrugged. “You can learn that, too, as you go.”
“Who will teach me?”
The young woman paused. She had large, wide set eyes and dark hair. “Probably, I will.”
If doing this made Zoey a little jealous, there might not be anything wrong with that, either.
“Okay,” he said, “I’m in.”
(To be continued, more or less.)
