What happens when you bring two Lake County residents with differing political views together for a guided conversation?
They might have more in common than you’d think.
Meet Derick 'Rick' Bugg
Umatilla resident Derick “Rick” Bugg retired after 20 years in the Air Force. He now works as an academic advisor for a college, focusing on helping students on the autism spectrum and with intellectual disabilities.
For Bugg, working at an embassy taught him how important the role of the president is overseas.
“I definitely could see how diplomats worked and how they brought to the table the values of our country, and hoping that, talking to other people, that they would understand our values, even if their values were different,” Bugg said. “So that's why I'm really big on who represents our country. It's just huge to me.”
Meet Charmaine Tenwinkel
Charmaine Tenwinkel has lived in Florida since 2011, and moved to Leesburg in 2016. Tenwinkel did not serve in the military like Bugg, but grow up as an “Army brat,” eventually working in male-dominated fields.
Tenwinkel grew up in a Republican household, and registered to vote as a Republican at the age of 18.
“I didn’t think about politics very much growing up,” Tenwinkel said. “Especially getting out of college, it was about survival. Can I feed myself? Can I pay my bills? And I would say the Reagan years were good to me.”
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To vote, or not to vote?
Tenwinkel said she has never voted by party line, and her party affiliation has changed over the years.
“There were times when I didn’t vote for what would be the Democratic or the Republican, which is probably a wasted vote,” Charmaine said. “But if you can’t truly support them, it’s really hard.”
Bugg has, at times, also struggled to vote for major-party candidates.
“I don’t want to put my name on any ticket where I don’t agree with anybody,” Bugg said. “In the past, I have not voted. I know that rubs people the wrong way, but I just can’t do it.”
The takeaway
At the end of the conversation, Tenwinkel asked what Bugg would take away. Bugg’s answer was heartfelt. He said he would take away that he’s not alone. “I found this conversation fulfilling, and I’ve learned a lot from you,” Bugg said. “You brought things from a different perspective.”
Tenwinkel said she assumed that there would be more conflict with the conversation.
“I just like you as a person, I just get a really warm feeling from you, I admire what you do for work, and I’d love to take my dogs to your farm,” Tenwinkel said.
“They will get dirty,” Bugg said with a laugh.
StoryCorps’ One Small Step and the Radio Station Hubs are made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
