So – You know what would be fun?

(That’s Stephanie for “take cover”) I have been just obsessed with the picture that Tracy got, the one of Barack Obama holding a sock in progress – and yesterday, the look on Greg Kinnears face when Carol handed him her sock for a picture, reminded me that I’ve been planning this post for a while.

Take a minute and go look at Tracy’s picture. I’m not sure why this moved me so much, but I just can’t stop thinking about it. Perhaps its because I think that politics sometimes does more harm that good in the world,or perhaps it is that the image of a person out to promote their own purposes being asked to momentarily have to serve ours – frankly, just charming. Perhaps it is simply the juxtaposition of a candidate for Head of State holding a sock is just so wholesome, that I am amused to no end. Perhaps it is simply that there is a part of me that really enjoys seeing powerful people befuddled and confused by a handknit ….Whatever it is, In the spirit of what all of that means to me, I have a challenge that I hope you guys will take me up on.

Every time someone gets a World Leader, a Head of State, Royalty or a Candidate for any of those positions to hold a sock in progress….I will make a donation to MSF, and record it with KWB (I won’t send myself an email though, because I will know.) I am hoping that other knitters/people will want to make donations too… and that they will send me an email so I can keep the tally. I’d love to see a million dollars in the sidebar, but I think that might be an idea that’s made of crazy-dust.

Rules? You betcha.

1. No minor politicians. No Governors, no Mayors, no City Councillors. (The occasional exception will be made for other really cool people or celebrities. For example, I made a donation yesterday because Carol got the Greg Kinnear thing, and she (and Greg) are made of awesome in sixteen ways. Did you see Greg on Conan talking about how now he kinnears people? Crazy.)

2. The politicians and royalty of any country in the world are eligible.

3. No lawbreaking. There is no bail fund to get a knitter who snuck into Buckingham Palace out of the clink. Be careful and do not frighten, startle or alarm the powerful. Do not rush at them with pointy sticks, do not attempt to breach security in any way. Be aware that there are people in the world who would like to hurt these people, and that it is very important that you are not confused with those people…even for a moment.

4. Photographic proof must be provided.

5. The sock must be on the needles.

6. The sock must be offered to the powerful person in question by a knitter. (This means that if your cousin is an aid to Raul Castro, he can’t take the sock for you – unless he is a knitter, in which case I’m really looking forward to the photo.)

7. You can’t explain. All the knitter can say is something like “Excuse me…would you please hold this sock for a picture?” Do not reveal to the politician that it might have anything to do with charity. Some of these people are campaigning, and we are attempting to reveal their true sock feelings, not their feelings about winning. Besides, it’s funnier my way.

8. By “Candidates” I mean anyone officially in the running for the position of President, Prime Minister, Head of a National Party, Queen, King, Crown Prince or Princess, Emir, Emperor or Empress, Sultan, Pharaoh…. or stands to inherit such a title through a line of succession (like Prince Charles) is eligible for the sock stalking.

9. Multiple sock encounters are permissible, and yay, even desirable. If someone else (or 20 other people) all get Barack Obama to hold a sock, game on.

10. This rollicking game of “hold a sock” shall be played without political agenda. Should a knitter succeed in getting a powerful person to hold a sock, this action shall not be considered a political endorsement of the powerful persons candidacy….or a statement of the knitters position on the issues. This means that if I were to manage to get a sock to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, I should not be considered a conservative….just really good at this game.

Double points if:

1. A politician publicly says “Is it just me….or am I seeing a lot of socks?”

2. A politician actually knits on the sock.

3. A politician makes mention of the sock action in an interview.

This game is only intended to, for very brief moments in time, warp the purpose of the politicians actions for our own means. For the 5 seconds that they hold the sock…their actions serve our purposes, and that just can’t be bad. I can’t force all of the powerful people in the world to care about the things that I do…but if, while they are out in the world, convincing people of their positions and raising funds for their own purposes, they hold a sock for a minute, maybe all of the good, quiet, thoughtful intention present in knitting will transfer to them…just for a second, and maybe they will think about that, and while they do, we will have turned that 5 seconds into a tiny little fundraiser that suits our purposes. It’s almost poetic.

Anybody in?

As always, if any member of our team is caught or killed, The Blog will disavow all knowledge of their actions. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.