The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • B4

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2552 CitadelCU.com 800.666.0191 that most familiar of Dela- ware politicians inches to- ward what would be the biggest moment of his long career, not to men- tion a singular moment in American history. Is he ready? In Delaware, Biden is that ubiquitous home- grown pol it seems so many have met in person, or come close to meeting, or feel as if met. Or maybe met Beau, when he spoke at their high school or served with their son in the Guard, or their daughter had Jill as a teacher, or they once sold Joe a Thun- derbird. a guy who has held Delawareans cap- tive in a decades-long love- rela- tionship. As Biden is trying to fi- nally vault to the top of his career goals, Delawareans are holding their breath.

Those like Sykes, who vouch for him, recalling how he called her when she was staying in a Red Roof Inn while her hus- band was hospitalized, chiding her for not staying with the Bidens them- selves. get goose bumps just talking about she said. Others in Delaware re- ject Biden as the career politician, someone who has represented a state that is home to beaches, farms, and cities but also has long laid out a wel- come mat for corporate America. does he answer said Abraxas Hudson, a Lewes gallery owner who defied shutdown orders this summer and supports Donald Trump. Hudson was one of a couple of doz- en people who attended a in the capital, Dover, at dusk Tues- day night, in front of Legis- lative Hall as known).

Republican can- didate for governor Julianne Murray also at- tended; invited Democratic candidates did not. Hudson echoes theories about finances ad- vanced by the Trump cam- paign, but with a local an- gle: know people who knew him, that knew him to be in terrible financial Hudson said. leaves him vulnera- ble to bad see what The touches of that senti- mental guy known as aware are every- where in a trip through the tiny state, from signs over twin garages of their Rehoboth home Gift and Forever Jill), to the counter at the upscale market near the Biden home in Green- ville, a suburb of Wilming- ton, where meat cutter Bill Keenan notes the ways Jill favors the turkey patties with feta, lately with curbside pickup. Walking on the board- walk last week, Larry Hobbs, public works fore- man in Rehoboth, said: see what seems to be a peo- ple person for Hobbs said. and Hobbs says he views the crime bill Bi- den supported as a mis- take, but, all make mis- In advance of a re- cent Rehoboth campaign stop, Hobbs made sure to send over a crew to clean Norfolk Street.

the family on Barley Mill Road, just around the corner from the Bidens, in Greenville, in a house with a Biden- Harris sign planted be- neath tall trees flaming with orange leaves. The nearby line of parked cars is a signal their neighbor is home. This family still thinks about seeing then-Vice Presi- dent Joe and son Beau be- hind them in line as they took their son to vote for the first time. The Bidens refused multiple offers to jump ahead. It made a big impression on their son, and on them.

In Claymont, just over the Pennsylvania line, where Biden claims a modest upbringing but also attended the exclu- sive Archmere Academy, Curtis Watkins, 69, a re- tired banker, said: a great stepdaughter at- tended Brandywine High School when Jill Biden was a teacher, he said, one who stayed for PTA meet- ings. was a joy going to the PTA he said. Dinner at the Bidens Political insiders recall warm dinners at the Bidens, daughter Ashley mixing the drinks, Hunter and Beau sent off to bed after some polite min- gling. Others, like Paul Fal- lon, who lives in Clay- mont, met Biden only once at a Memorial Day ceremo- ny, where Biden down and shook every Standing behind an old Joe sign, a bunch of which he says he found by chance one day, Fallon said: like him. I trust He added: vote for a pota- to besides Along the coastline in Slaughter Beach, Bill Wer- nick and Roxana Moayedi, newly transplanted Dela- wareans, neighbors and ac- ademics, are so firmly in camp that they sport a big Biden flag planted on their piece of beach along the Delaware Bay, for all the world (or at least Cape May, N.J.) to see.

think he would bring back the ideal of America that I came to this country said Moayedi, who is originally from Iran. Envi- ronmental issues also are key, she said. know him per- says Wernick. just believe in Voting day On the day Joe and Jill Biden voted in Wilming- ton, Denise Trader, 63, also voted, at the same place, but waiting in the car on French Street while her grandson carried her ballot into the Carvel State Office Building. voting for Joe Bi- den, and I appreciate that Donald Trump keeps lying about Joe Trader said.

Biden made a lot of things hap- pen here in Andrea Wilson-Harvey also voted that day, and posed for a photo waving the way Joe and Jill Biden had done a few hours be- fore. She said she planned to tell her history class in Lower Merion all about it. so happy for she said. happy for all of us who want Anthony Powell brought his grandchildren with him to vote, and said he had marveled watching Bi- den and Kamala Harris ac- cept the Democratic nomi- nation in Wilmington, while he sat at home watching on TV. He was a bit sore he man- aged to get there in per- son.

was right down the he said. So much of the Joe Bi- den story Delaware has known all along is wound up with grief, from the death of his first wife and daughter in 1972 to the death of son Beau, at age 46. Even Joe tough- est Delaware critics have kind words for Beau, who was attorney general and served in the military before dying of cancer in 2015 people like Gary Reddick, who sat on a Rehoboth Beach bench leveling blistering attacks about fi- nancial ties, and Hunter alleged dealings with China, then said, would have voted for first wife and daughter and Beau are buried in the cemetery be- side the old yellow church in Greenville the Bidens still attend, St. Joseph on the Brandywine, as recent- ly as Sunday. Of late, Beau gravestone has been turned into a mini-shrine to his final try at the presidency.

A Biden- Harris sticker is on the lower right, along with campaign buttons and flowers. Someone also left a white bracelet with the words voted "amysrosenberg Continued from B1 Andrea Wilson-Harvey dropped off her ballot in Wilmington on the same day that Joe and Jill Biden did. happy for all of us who want she said. Abraxas Hudson is a Lewes gallery owner who defied shutdown orders this summer and favors Donald Trump. Of Joe Biden, he says: does he answer At the market in Greenville, meat cutter Bill Keenan says Jill Biden is an regular who favors the turkey patties with feta.

AMY S. ROSENBERG Staff Beau grave, at the church the Bidens attend, has been turned into a mini-shrine recently. Delaware B4 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER SUNDAY, NOV. 1, 2020 INQUIRER.COM.