The Catholic Defender At the 2016 Republican Convention At Cleveland Ohio

I began this journey basically from a challenge by one of our co-hosts on our Inside Politics series when Matthew Pryor of Troy Michigan spoke of possibly making it to the convention himself to support the Delegates.

I thought about that as well and it was during one of our recent shows that I made the decision to make the trip from Madison Alabama to Cleveland Ohio.

In order to make such a trip I was able to get leave time from work, that was huge, but I didn't want to go there blindly and I am glad that I didn't. I called and talked to Republican Representative with the Alabama Republican Delegation Rudy Scott who became a life savor for me. Rudy gave me great instruction.

I left for Ohio on 17 July 2016 and the route was about eleven hours, along the way, I stopped and parked to call in and participate with John Carpenter for the Deepertruth Radio show, "Journey With Mary", and I want to thank John for opening up the studio and make the show possible.

I finally came to a place near Cleveland and I found a hotel just 20 minutes away from where the Alabama Republican Delegation was staying at the Sheridan Hotel next to the airport at Cleveland. This was a miracle to find a hotel anywhere that had a room opening as hundreds of journalists had to drive an hour back and forth to the Convention Center.

I want to thank Rudy and the whole Alabama Delegation as they welcomed me as part of their own. Everyday began with breakfast, speakers, and directions for the day. During this time, I was given the chance to meet many people. Prayer, the honoring of the Flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the singing of our National Anthem was always front and center for the day.

The above picture I met Mrs. Dorthy Woods, the widow of Tyrone Woods who was one of the four hero's giving the the ultimate sacrifice for their Country and saving the lives of more that 30 Americans (Benghazi). Mrs. Woods gave an inspirational speech as did several other Republican dignitaries.

The first morning there at the Sheridan I was greatly honored meeting Senator Jeff Sessions who invited me to sit and eat at his table. I first met with Senator Sessions in Madison Alabama when he endorsed Donald Trump for President.

Meeting Secretary of State (Alabama) John H. Merrill, Todd Stacy, the Communications Director, Terry Lathan and so many others, it was an honor and they really made me feel to be a part of them. All of them did.

Each day was organized filled with events throughout the day. There were buses that took us back and forth to these events and to the Convention Center where all the activity took place. I really want to say that the Police support for the whole time was second to none, with all the threats surrounding the Republican Convention, everything was safe 100 percent. We did not really see many protesters even when we charted events in Cleveland businesses.

We had the chance to visit places like Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and several places where we had music and refreshments. Three Dog Night and Lynard Skynyrd played concert for the many delegates throughout the Country.

At the Convention Center, there was a lot of electricity each night as speakers pledged support for Donald Trump. I had the chance to meet several people who are certainly in the news.

Newt Gingrich is a great man of integrity who loves this nation and loves the Lord. Both Newt and his wife, Callista, are both converts to the Catholic Faith and have produced a number of faith based videos.

Throughout each evening, the Convention Center was full of people as the delegates had much to do following procedures of the Republican Party. It was very interesting to watch them throughout the Convention as they would choose the nominee for President of the United States of America.

It was like a basketball game as it was always loud, always full, and always something going on. There was so many people from the media there, always someone of interest there, you never knew when someone would be seen hustling through the crowd going from point A to point B.

One such person I managed to corner was Jesse Watters of Fox News who features the show, "Watters World" and appears on the O'Reilly Factor.

However, on this particular occasion, Jesse found himself in my world.

Jesse is a good man and supports the Military, it was a great blessing to meet him and so many others during this convention. To meet and talk with ordinary people who love America and wants to see our Nation turn back to the greatness that she has always been. Here was the place of giants who has the future in our hands. I met Paul Ryan, the current Speaker of the House of Representatives who thanked me for my service. That was a constant, the support for our military was expressed by so many people.

I originally went there to support Donald Trump and as an American, to take the opportunity to see for myself what a Convention looks like. The Security and police protection was everywhere, if you didn't have the right credentials, you were extremely limited for what you could do from getting on the main floor to going into other area seats. If you were a guest as I was, you were up in the cheat seats, but it was all good. For me, just to be there experiencing the whole scene was fantastic.

I did meet Donald Trump's communication's spokesperson, Katrina Pierson who was very personable as I watched her dealing with people all around her. Whenever anyone who has a celebrity status, when they walk among the people, they are literally hit by the media and the curiosity seekers. I was able to talk to her, I asked her to let my friend, Donald Trump know I was there supporting him. I had written an article, "Donald Trump Going Against All The Odd's", and apparently he liked the article and friended me on Facebook, which is also an honor. I was overjoyed to notice a number of times the usage of "Trump going against all the odds" was used in speeches.

There is so much to cover, there were so many great speeches from so many great Americans, so many that gave outstanding support for Donald Trump. From politicians, Ministers, Actors, Commentators, people like Chris Christie, Dr. Ben Carson, Scott Walker, Jeff Sessions, Newt Gingrich, Rich Perry, and so many more. It was great to have heard Melania's speech despite all the fuss over it. All of these were for me a huge honor to be able to hear this live.

To all of Donald Trump's Children who spoke at the Convention, Ivanka, Tiffany, Eric, and Donald Jr, you all knocked it out of the park. At the end of the Convention when it was all said and done, it was really great to see son Barron who looks so much like his parents, will follow in his brothers and sisters footsteps.

There is so much to take away from these events, so many people, so many memories, I totally forgot about the protesters, the poor analysis of CNN following each night, your never going to fully silence those who are agenda driven and not truth driven, but for many of us who were there, it was a great honor. Donald Trump's acceptance speech was perfect, I left there filled with great hope for America.

Please pray for America, we need to pray for the family, for our political and religious leaders, especially our priests and bishops. For our Military and our police. Together, we have been praying thousands of dedicated Rosaries for Donald Trump and America, that should have positive results, the Lord so loves his Mother and us! Let freedom ring!

I want to thank my wife Gigi who supported my being there who values my wanting to be there. Now, Donald Trump needs to go out there and defeat Hillary Clinton and to make America great again.