An eastern Iowa couple got singled out for special treatment last night at the Democratic National Convention. Tom and Becky Furlong of Letts, which is in Muscatine County, hosted a John Kerry picnic on their farm last summer. Kerry invited the couple to sit with his family last night in the convention hall. Furlong, like Kerry, is a Vietnam veteran, and endorsed Kerry early in the campaign. Furlong says he was impressed with Kerry becuase he’s “a serious person of substance.” Furlong was on stage, briefly, too, part of a group of farmers who stood as another farmer from Kentucky gave a testimonial on Kerry. Furlong was elected an alternate delegate to the convention, and was sitting in the balcony earlier this week, and didn’t find out ‘til yesterday that he’d be on stage. He says the seat upgrade was “thrilling” especially since he wasn’t sure his wife would even be able to be in the hall for last night’s speech.