I'm twittering now because it suites me and I feel it's the new and best way for me to blog. Check me out there.
It's too damn cold to do much of anything. I haven't written in a few days. I did have something coming out of the Middle East by way of my pen and it's either finished or stalled. Sometimes all I need is a good long wordy paragraph. Last time, in '06 when Lebanon was being pummeled by rockets and tanks I wrote a few pages that I then recorded and put to music with the band. It was something that David put together and played, he gets the credit for the idea. I imagine now I could read it better, make it sound more natural but that moment has passed.
The holidays have passed too. I'm glad and better for it all being over. I was sick on Christmas; I drifted in and out of sleep while dreaming of apple pie and flying to another place to be far away from everyone I know. New Year's was a quiet day to clean up all the messes and relax. New Year's eve was the highlight and still it was quiet. Good gin and tonics and enough Thai food to have left overs the next day. It's tough to make a lot of noise this time of year, it's tough to go out to the museums and the coffee houses.
Last night we drove home late from work. We didn't pull into the driveway until nearly eleven. The moon was so bright against the snow, no real cloud cover to keep it away. It was so damn cold and so bright that the mountain shone like it was sitting for a portrait. I wanted to keep walking and climb to the top. I hooked a right and came inside for a long sleep.
The holidays have passed too. I'm glad and better for it all being over. I was sick on Christmas; I drifted in and out of sleep while dreaming of apple pie and flying to another place to be far away from everyone I know. New Year's was a quiet day to clean up all the messes and relax. New Year's eve was the highlight and still it was quiet. Good gin and tonics and enough Thai food to have left overs the next day. It's tough to make a lot of noise this time of year, it's tough to go out to the museums and the coffee houses.
Last night we drove home late from work. We didn't pull into the driveway until nearly eleven. The moon was so bright against the snow, no real cloud cover to keep it away. It was so damn cold and so bright that the mountain shone like it was sitting for a portrait. I wanted to keep walking and climb to the top. I hooked a right and came inside for a long sleep.
- Sounds Like::Coleman Hawkins - Lover Man
"O Winter! Ruler of the inverted year...
I crown thee king of intimate delights,
Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness,
And all the comforts that the lowly roof
of undisturb'd retirement, and the hours
of long uninterrupted evening, know."
William Cowper
I crown thee king of intimate delights,
Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness,
And all the comforts that the lowly roof
of undisturb'd retirement, and the hours
of long uninterrupted evening, know."
William Cowper
Cooking dinner and considering the economy, thinking about the morning paper headline, hundreds laid to waste as all they know goes to the highest bidder.
The mountains this morning were the evidence of last nights ice storm that's left thousands without electricity and heat. We were spared somehow and I wonder when we will get hit with something.
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The arctic air made it's way East yesterday and by the time I was coming home from work I could really feel the change. Today it's expected to stay cold and the weekend could bring our first significant snow fall this season. I've been busy thinking about money matters, trying to stay on budget and still find some room to get small gifts for family and friends. As if by magic I went to bed feeling just fine and awoke with a reasonably bad headache. It's nothing I haven't dealt with before, it sits on the front of my head waiting for me to forget about it.
Up an hour earlier than I'd expected. Out the door by twenty after seven for my relatively new tradition of taking a walk before the holiday celebration begins. The streets were quiet, just a few people walking dogs and a man in an automatic wheelchair that gave an eerie creak when he went by. One of the local trash haulers made it's rounds, probably trying to keep on some sort of schedule. I know how that goes. Only a few stores were open, for convenience sake. A man unlocked the door to a dive bar and then locked it behind him. The Corner Lunch had frying bacon that helped propel me up the long slow hill. The sidewalks were icy because the sun hadn't had any time to thaw things out. Now it's the Macy's parade and a cup of Irish tea. My Christmas list just finished so I e-mailed it off to the family and money is tight so I told everyone to keep their budgets in mind.
For the fellow voyeur there is the Live Thanksgiving blog at The New York Times which began last night. I'll be following it when I step away from my family celebration for a breath of cool air. It has long been a tradition in my family that the men take their leave on occasion to wander the yard and look like they are thinking very hard about something. As I grow older I find myself following in the tradition and sometimes we are out there thinking about big things. I can also say that sometimes at least I am outside thinking about how blessed I am, how lucky I am and how, while things aren't easy, they aren't bad.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, and many blessings.
For the fellow voyeur there is the Live Thanksgiving blog at The New York Times which began last night. I'll be following it when I step away from my family celebration for a breath of cool air. It has long been a tradition in my family that the men take their leave on occasion to wander the yard and look like they are thinking very hard about something. As I grow older I find myself following in the tradition and sometimes we are out there thinking about big things. I can also say that sometimes at least I am outside thinking about how blessed I am, how lucky I am and how, while things aren't easy, they aren't bad.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, and many blessings.
- Sounds Like::Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
I didn't manage to stay asleep too long this morning thanks to the fresh sun and it's reflection on the young snow. I'm happy to be awake as it gives me some quiet time to read, have a cup of tea and listen to Weekend Edition Sunday.
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We had a good squall this afternoon. I sat in my car with a coffee watching the snow and the wind conspire. The music was just loud enough to set everything up and I wanted so badly to capture it. It's right that I didn't, it was a moment of softness and reflection too deep to share. On the surface it was a moment between two errands, between the coffee shop and the grocery store. I like to go deeper.
Tonight we braved the cold to go see an opening at Greylock Arts downtown. There was a nice crowd and I met some new people and hung out with several good friends. After spending an hour wandering with a hot cider we headed back to the house for a quiet evening of cured meats, cheeses, fine rum, and good company. There was a lot of talk and a lot of laughs, a new and appreciated voice in the crowd that took me by surprise in a very good way. We discussed photography, art, the love of women, taxes, liberty, criminals, and the way that things go and don't go. I need more of this in my life.
I'm tired now and I'm glad that the house is relatively quiet save the concert on the television keeping me company as I begin to unwind and consider going to bed. I put fresh linens on the bed this morning as I cleaned up my space. I hope the clean bedding will help me sleep deeper than I have the last few nights. The sun rises so early now but who am I to fight it. Just give me until eight and I'll do alright, okay?
Tomorrow I have brunch and then I'll think about those winter boots that I so badly need. Thanksgiving is just a handful of days away and there's an e-mail or two to write about that. Oh and I need to remember the rolls for Thursday, time to make a list.
Tonight we braved the cold to go see an opening at Greylock Arts downtown. There was a nice crowd and I met some new people and hung out with several good friends. After spending an hour wandering with a hot cider we headed back to the house for a quiet evening of cured meats, cheeses, fine rum, and good company. There was a lot of talk and a lot of laughs, a new and appreciated voice in the crowd that took me by surprise in a very good way. We discussed photography, art, the love of women, taxes, liberty, criminals, and the way that things go and don't go. I need more of this in my life.
I'm tired now and I'm glad that the house is relatively quiet save the concert on the television keeping me company as I begin to unwind and consider going to bed. I put fresh linens on the bed this morning as I cleaned up my space. I hope the clean bedding will help me sleep deeper than I have the last few nights. The sun rises so early now but who am I to fight it. Just give me until eight and I'll do alright, okay?
Tomorrow I have brunch and then I'll think about those winter boots that I so badly need. Thanksgiving is just a handful of days away and there's an e-mail or two to write about that. Oh and I need to remember the rolls for Thursday, time to make a list.
- Sounds Like::Austin City Limits
The bulk of this morning spent raking leaves and picking rocks from the yard to toss into the ravine that runs along the property. It was cold and dry, quiet with clouds though not especially overcast. I managed to get it all done and enjoy it. I pulled my car out of the way and piled more leaves into the big black bag only to walk ten feet and pour them over the edge. I filled the same bag with garbage that's been tossed or just blown into the yard over the last month and put that in the trash can. The trash is collected tomorrow so I will put it out tonight. There is still the matter of getting a new snow shovel, of getting a good pair of boots suitable for indoor and outdoor use during the long New England winter ahead. Last year I tried to save a few dollars and bought a pair of universal rubber floor mats to use in my car. It was a mistake, they were too small and didn't do the job. Yesterday I ordered the right size mats from a parts store on the other side of the state because they were the only place that I found which didn't double the price for their markup.
Now I have to go into the attic and collect my snow tires. I'll bring them down today and load them into the car so that I can get up early and go to the local tire shop. There is a line this time of year no matter what day and time you go because people leave their cars lined up after work the night before. I like to get up at about six and try to get down there well before seven. I'll bring something for breakfast and warm drink. I should have a fresh New Yorker and there are plenty of books and other magazines I want to get into.
This season brings so much with it and I finally feel as though I am prepared and experienced enough to know what to do and when to do it. There will be exceptions though, there always are.
- Sounds Like::A Perfect Circle - Gravity
Was awake before five yesterday. I heard a door open and my eyes followed suit. The thoughts didn't stop for a good half hour, lots of negativity and confusion, fear, all unwarranted and yet I fell for it again. I did get back to sleep and when I woke two hours later my mood was sour. I went out to get the laundry done and found myself loading it all in feeling very numb, feeling like it didn't really matter much if I had clean or dirty clothes. I took a drive to The Glen and walked around for a while. It was cold and fog held the snow covered mountain against a dreary sky. It was misting and everything felt cold and quiet. I lamented that soon enough there will be condos and a golf course at the very place at which I stood, the place that is now surrounded by ponds and fields and gigantic trees. I did a lot of thinking up there, about work, about life, I pulled the usual list out and just went in alphabetical order for it all. When I came home things became clearer and then I forced myself into some quiet time, a long shower, a good lunch, and a few hours of work put me back on the right side of the mood.
There is a meeting today to discuss work with the Boss. Lots of transition in the waking life and yet my mind is stuck as it has been for years. It cycles to the light and then to the dark, to the yes and the no, purpose, no purpose. It is a dangerous trail to walk because there is a great deal of time spent retracing steps trying to find something that's lost. I'm tired of reestablishing the same markers when the earth gives a little shake or when the moon gets bright.
Today is Armistice Day (Veterans Day here in the States) when at the eleventh hour of the the eleventh day of the eleventh month the first great and terrible World War came to an end.
There is a meeting today to discuss work with the Boss. Lots of transition in the waking life and yet my mind is stuck as it has been for years. It cycles to the light and then to the dark, to the yes and the no, purpose, no purpose. It is a dangerous trail to walk because there is a great deal of time spent retracing steps trying to find something that's lost. I'm tired of reestablishing the same markers when the earth gives a little shake or when the moon gets bright.
Today is Armistice Day (Veterans Day here in the States) when at the eleventh hour of the the eleventh day of the eleventh month the first great and terrible World War came to an end.
- Sounds Like::Jeff Black - Cakewalk
It's been gray and raining all day. My eyes sting from cutting onion and garlic for spaghetti sauce and oven potatoes. The sauce, my Mothers recipe, was in a low oven for two hours and will sit overnight in the refrigerator for dinner tomorrow and much of the week. It's better a day on, everything comes together nicely with some time to rest.
There is a concert tonight though It doesn't seem as though I will make it. I did get out this morning to run errands and gather a few supplies at the grocery store but otherwise it's been quiet. I did some reading and some writing. I cooked, watched reruns of "Law & Order" and watched the dark skies get even darker as the early dusk comes closer and closer. Tonight the sun will set just after four thirty, we lost two minutes of day light according to the weather announcer on the radio at lunch. I don't mind loosing the time. I thrive with the darkness, It's when I want to be out and it's when I am at my best.
Right now it feels more like Spring than late Autumn. I've had my bedroom window open since yesterday afternoon. I slept with it open last night and what a mighty good sleep I did have. It's actually humid here, just enough to notice. Early November and it's humid, what odd tricks.
There is a concert tonight though It doesn't seem as though I will make it. I did get out this morning to run errands and gather a few supplies at the grocery store but otherwise it's been quiet. I did some reading and some writing. I cooked, watched reruns of "Law & Order" and watched the dark skies get even darker as the early dusk comes closer and closer. Tonight the sun will set just after four thirty, we lost two minutes of day light according to the weather announcer on the radio at lunch. I don't mind loosing the time. I thrive with the darkness, It's when I want to be out and it's when I am at my best.
Right now it feels more like Spring than late Autumn. I've had my bedroom window open since yesterday afternoon. I slept with it open last night and what a mighty good sleep I did have. It's actually humid here, just enough to notice. Early November and it's humid, what odd tricks.
- Sounds Like::The river through an open window
Last night was historic and emotional. President elect Obama spoke of helping our nation and the world. He made it clear that things will change, that those nations who choose peace will gain our support and those nations that practice tyranny will know our cold stare. I know we used to be a great nation, I know when we did something people took notice. It's not been like that for a while (I'd argue since Clinton's affair was exposed). Now we're stuck in the mud and a lot of people are laughing at us. A lot more are worried because if we can't get it together what chance does their country have? Some people want us to fail, some nations would like to see this country implode through partisanship and greed but more want us to come through and shine again. We can help lead the world again. Americans can join the ranks again of the respected nations in the world. We can stop performing like we're the only major military power and start acting like a sovereign nation again. Our diplomats can go forth and connect with countries that are friendly and adversarial to try and make what binds us stronger and lessen what separates us. I think we all have common goals and if we focus on those goals perhaps through careful dialog and concession the world will know something more of peace.
I am not without sense. There will still be trouble and difficulty, I just think President elect Obama will find a bigger way through it all. He has a perspective that's different from the baby boomers who've ruled this country for the last three decades. He is not encumbered by what troubles our parents, Barack looks at the world through younger eyes. We need younger eyes that do not have the burden of age and cynicism. Our country needs some healing and it may be a little embarrassing for us to go through. So won't you let us close the door for a few days, turn your heads away and let us cry and smile and take one another by the hand to take those who are afraid of the future and show them the promise that Barack has made. Let us do it this way and when the door opens again so many of us, more than before, will be ready to take your hand, we'll reach across the oceans and bring you into it all.
I am not without sense. There will still be trouble and difficulty, I just think President elect Obama will find a bigger way through it all. He has a perspective that's different from the baby boomers who've ruled this country for the last three decades. He is not encumbered by what troubles our parents, Barack looks at the world through younger eyes. We need younger eyes that do not have the burden of age and cynicism. Our country needs some healing and it may be a little embarrassing for us to go through. So won't you let us close the door for a few days, turn your heads away and let us cry and smile and take one another by the hand to take those who are afraid of the future and show them the promise that Barack has made. Let us do it this way and when the door opens again so many of us, more than before, will be ready to take your hand, we'll reach across the oceans and bring you into it all.
- Sounds Like::WAMC - Election Coverage
What a night, what an incredible event tonight. It's very late now, more tomorrow.
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- Location:Iphone
- Sounds Like::The PBS
I went down just before nine to cast my ballot. At the school, the only polling location here in town it was pretty busy with people trying to find parking places and a few walkers coming along as well. A police officer was directing traffic at the cross walk while a tall man who lives just up the street had his Obama/Biden and John Kerry for Senate posters slung around his neck.
Inside along one wall there was a bake sale with coffee and treats for sale. Farther down the hall, inside the gym, were dozens of silver haired ladies keeping things smooth. Thank you volunteers. I took my ballot and went into one of the booths. My decisions were, for the most part, already made but I still took a few minutes to review the different names and questions laid before me. After a few minutes I queued up behind two other people and waited my turn to deposit my ballot into the electronic reader. My pleasant state was momentarily erased as I watched the woman at the front of the line get rejected and then the person directly in front of me had the same problem. Both had incomplete ballots and were therefore told to go and get a replacement. I confirmed my address and slid my ballot into the machine successfully and I was counted.
I have voted for the third time now in what is the 56th Presidential election. There was no sticker from the League of Women Voters which was disappointing because I wore the '04 sticker all day. There is nothing left to do except watch and listen to see what happens. I hope the news media doesn't rush results out until they are final. I'll sacrifice quick news for accuracy any day generally and this day specifically.
Inside along one wall there was a bake sale with coffee and treats for sale. Farther down the hall, inside the gym, were dozens of silver haired ladies keeping things smooth. Thank you volunteers. I took my ballot and went into one of the booths. My decisions were, for the most part, already made but I still took a few minutes to review the different names and questions laid before me. After a few minutes I queued up behind two other people and waited my turn to deposit my ballot into the electronic reader. My pleasant state was momentarily erased as I watched the woman at the front of the line get rejected and then the person directly in front of me had the same problem. Both had incomplete ballots and were therefore told to go and get a replacement. I confirmed my address and slid my ballot into the machine successfully and I was counted.
I have voted for the third time now in what is the 56th Presidential election. There was no sticker from the League of Women Voters which was disappointing because I wore the '04 sticker all day. There is nothing left to do except watch and listen to see what happens. I hope the news media doesn't rush results out until they are final. I'll sacrifice quick news for accuracy any day generally and this day specifically.
- Sounds Like::WAMC/NPR - The Roundtable
Somehow I had an extra hour of sleep and still feel tired. Friday night was late and Saturday afternoon was spent making up the work that was missed the day before. I slept soundly and dreamt about a snake which did not bother me much. Today I'll try to get some laundry done and I want to go for a walk before I get my day started. I'll spend some time with family over coffee and brunch so we can catch up and see one another. It's a near weekly tradition that I started when I moved away because I missed seeing my parents and my sister (who comes by sometimes with my nephew) and Sunday morning is my favorite time to relax.
Voting is just three days away. I am excited and ready to go. This will be the second Presidential election in which I vote. I'm missing one, 2000, because I was not interested and didn't register before the deadline. So now I feel like I'm catching up and no matter how many times I vote I'll always be one down, I'm going to try to catch up forever.
Voting is just three days away. I am excited and ready to go. This will be the second Presidential election in which I vote. I'm missing one, 2000, because I was not interested and didn't register before the deadline. So now I feel like I'm catching up and no matter how many times I vote I'll always be one down, I'm going to try to catch up forever.
- Sounds Like::WAMC - Weekend Edition Sunday
Late night Friday. Two friends and I headed to The Egg in Albany for our (almost) annual Henry Rollins show. Henry is a writer, founder of the Rollins Band and former lead singer of Black Flag. He's an actor, a thinker, an autodidact and most importantly he likes to tour the world doing spoken word shows. Last night's show was really solid, his work only gets better with time and age. I laughed so much that my mouth hurt and he put a lot of things in perspective. He talked about why he isn't cynical and why he gets up early every day and goes to bed late every night. Rollins looks at the coming year and says "bring it, I'll kick your ass!" He has more energy than anyone I've known and he's approaching fifty. The man has mellowed since I first became interested in him at the turn of the century but his spirit and energy are still second to none. I've been going to his talking shows since 2003 (well every year except 2006) and it's like going to a seminar called "How to Make it Through Another Year" only lately the sub-title has been "And how to do it well and be better for it." It's three hours of humor and very serious talking. He made a number of points last night that I had forgotten about, that my occasional cynicism and why bother attitude had gobbled up over the last year. He travels all over the world and usually goes to places that he is specifically told to avoid. He went to Pakistan and wandered the streets as they lost their sheperd Binazir Buto. He ran with the mobs and watched as a country cried itself into exhaustion. He went to the killing fields in Cambodia and picked up bits of people long since dead, sorting their bones and teeth and the wire used to bind them in the last moments of their lives. He was touched by all of this, disturbed and confused and it hit him that he must try harder and he must find a way to communicate it to all of us. He visits the damaged soliders at Walter Reed and comes away thinking not that this is the cost of war but that this is the reason that wars should not exist. He's active man, he's a damn inspiration.
It's good to be alive and to have enough money to eat and be happy. It's good to have family, friends, and a job. Our country is troubled and I know this but it is still worth making something of it if for no other reason than to respect those who have fought and died all over the world for what is to me something I never think about, freedom. I have to work today to make up for what I missed yesterday and I have nothing to complain about.
It's good to be alive and to have enough money to eat and be happy. It's good to have family, friends, and a job. Our country is troubled and I know this but it is still worth making something of it if for no other reason than to respect those who have fought and died all over the world for what is to me something I never think about, freedom. I have to work today to make up for what I missed yesterday and I have nothing to complain about.
Last night marks the first snow fall for this season. It was early and there isn't much of it this morning. The neighbor's sheds have a dusting along the roof line as the buildings are unheated, the wood pile in the other neighbors yard looks like a little snowy. The roads are fine and it's even melted off of the yards for the most part. We'll be in the sixties again by the weekend I'm told, this was nature saying "I can do it if I want." It's good that things will warm up again because there is still raking to do and we'll need to get the snow fence up soon. It's also just too early. I enjoy the cold weather but I'm not sure I could enjoy it for an extra month especially when one never knows when it will really end as Spring creeps around. Bringing equipment out to the work truck at nine thirty last night as the frigid air swept dead leaves and slushy snow around me felt alright, a good portent of the coming season. It made me thankful for my recently purchased Warm-Up Jacket (in burgundy) from L.L. Bean. I wore it last night to see how it will perform and it pleased me, I was warm and dry whenever I ventured outside.
I had trouble finding sleep because it was so cold and windy. I pulled a couple extra blankets out and pushed one against the window that is right next to my bed (and therefore right next to me!) and had the other one pulled around my shoulders. This house is old and very drafty but when the heat gets going it comforts like a wood stove.
I see that the Christian Science Monitor will be going to a web-only format for daily news this Spring. I subscribe to the Friday edition via the post and it appears that they will instead be delivering a weekly edition similar to one of the major news magazines. It is difficult to see a well respected, informative newspaper succumb to the new media machine that is the Internet and television. They're doing this to survive so they are not failing, just changing with the times.
This morning I made a pot of coffee and am doing my best to endure the morning chill. I'm thinking ahead for the next few days and beyond. On Friday I'm going with two friends to see a show and then I'll be working for a while on Saturday to make up what I missed the day prior. November is in sight, election day, a few holidays and then we can all start to expect the snow and ice. I'll get my tires changed over and put the snow brush and mini shovel in the trunk. I'm getting ahead of myself now, just as Nature did yesterday.
I had trouble finding sleep because it was so cold and windy. I pulled a couple extra blankets out and pushed one against the window that is right next to my bed (and therefore right next to me!) and had the other one pulled around my shoulders. This house is old and very drafty but when the heat gets going it comforts like a wood stove.
I see that the Christian Science Monitor will be going to a web-only format for daily news this Spring. I subscribe to the Friday edition via the post and it appears that they will instead be delivering a weekly edition similar to one of the major news magazines. It is difficult to see a well respected, informative newspaper succumb to the new media machine that is the Internet and television. They're doing this to survive so they are not failing, just changing with the times.
This morning I made a pot of coffee and am doing my best to endure the morning chill. I'm thinking ahead for the next few days and beyond. On Friday I'm going with two friends to see a show and then I'll be working for a while on Saturday to make up what I missed the day prior. November is in sight, election day, a few holidays and then we can all start to expect the snow and ice. I'll get my tires changed over and put the snow brush and mini shovel in the trunk. I'm getting ahead of myself now, just as Nature did yesterday.
- Sounds Like::WAMC - Morning Edition
Fear. The Fear. Don't we all enjoy it? I mean really, we all like to be afraid because it gets us off. For some it gets us out the door, it gets our dander up and our blood pumping. We yell and shout and go on and on with our own little fireside chats about the ifs and the whens and how it's all going to fall down anyway. I'm tired of being afraid and I'm tired of being around people who are afraid. I'm overwhelmed by racism and the kind of attention to insignificant (and often untrue) points of view that are then pushed out on top of the great big media engine.
I went to bed feeling pushed into a corner and feeling the Fear. I listened to a lot yesterday that put me up and put me down. This election is a roller coaster and I know that I signed up and should not sound my complaint out loud but damn it is tough. It's tough to watch and listen to people look at a man who is arguably one of the best Presidential candidates we've seen in the last two decades and say that he's probably going to fail. I do my best to push back not because I am a blind optimist (I am not) but because I look at the evidence, the ground swell of support, and the issues in question and know that it cannot all just be fancy talk. I do not expect a savior nor do I expect four or eight years of empty talking points and behind the scenes hand wringing. Senator Obama will get something of what he speaks about done and I think he will will get more done than so many seem to expect.
It's a dark day here. We have weather moving in, an early snow storm that may drop one to three inches of slush and snow through tomorrow morning. People are probably running for milk and bread but I am not afraid. I've been here before, every year, as the air gets quiet and the sky chokes up for a while. The snow will come and it will probably melt quickly because the ground is simply not cold enough. It will be wet and muddy, it will make my job more like a job again, and it is all nothing to be afraid of.
I went to bed feeling pushed into a corner and feeling the Fear. I listened to a lot yesterday that put me up and put me down. This election is a roller coaster and I know that I signed up and should not sound my complaint out loud but damn it is tough. It's tough to watch and listen to people look at a man who is arguably one of the best Presidential candidates we've seen in the last two decades and say that he's probably going to fail. I do my best to push back not because I am a blind optimist (I am not) but because I look at the evidence, the ground swell of support, and the issues in question and know that it cannot all just be fancy talk. I do not expect a savior nor do I expect four or eight years of empty talking points and behind the scenes hand wringing. Senator Obama will get something of what he speaks about done and I think he will will get more done than so many seem to expect.
It's a dark day here. We have weather moving in, an early snow storm that may drop one to three inches of slush and snow through tomorrow morning. People are probably running for milk and bread but I am not afraid. I've been here before, every year, as the air gets quiet and the sky chokes up for a while. The snow will come and it will probably melt quickly because the ground is simply not cold enough. It will be wet and muddy, it will make my job more like a job again, and it is all nothing to be afraid of.
- Sounds Like::WAMC - The Writers Almanac
I do not want to sound like a frightened liberal because I am neither. I am more centrist than liberal and, at least this morning, I am not afraid about anything. What does worry me is the stupidity that's floating around on subjects ranging from gay rights to the war in Iraq and on to Obama and his so called "past". I was just watching C-Span as I will do once in a while (I used to enjoy Book TV on C-Span 2 however we cancelled our cable package so I no longer get it on the television. It is available on the Internet and I digress) and one of the callers just went on and on about Obama and how liberal he will be. She said he has never held down a government job, that he has too much money and that he is morally and emotionally corrupt. He is a bad man who will bring bad actors into the Government; he'll sell our secrets to the USSR and empty the war chest to starve the armed forces. The woman sounded old, scared, and southern. In fact she was from Tennessee and she was most certainly Conservative.
I will neither hold her age nor her home against her. Being old can occasionally bring about some sort of change. It seems to increase the fear and paranoia that exists in them. Being from the South only gives a person a different worldview on things and different isn't necessarily bad. I will hold one thing against her. Stupidity. She doesn't know what she's talking about and one can tell when one hears something similar coming out of any mouth. It starts with a minor jab, something that might even be true. In this instance it began with how the Government will get more liberal than it has been in a while and this is probably true. We've had two very conservative presidents and one moderately conservative in twenty eight years. Her second point was that he didn't accept public financing, also true. I was disappointed when I saw that he hadn't taken the funds because I really believed it would have ironed out some of the old wrinkles (robo calls, attack ads, underhanded mouth-pieces and pundits). I see now that I was wrong and Senator Obama made the right decision even if he did at first declare that he would take public financing. Indeed he probably wanted to take it but he realized that the attackers would be there even if they're dealing in stealth more now than in the last eight years. He knew the taped phone calls about his so called record and his "past" would roll out if he had any kind of lead in the polls. Once the old woman pulled the facts out she just started going on with little concern for accuracy and honesty. She insulted everyone she could, the media, C-Span, Saturday Night Live, Russia,, Democrats, Republicans, and even the host personally for his bias. He hung up on her which is what they do for the most part because people will happily talk and talk without listening.
And there it was. Before a cup of orange juice or tea I had a dose of stupidity. It made me think of the sad woman at the McCain rally who said Obama is an Arab before the Senator took the microphone back from her. It reminded me of the people who shout terrorist and traitor and kill him at the McCain rallies. I remembered how McCain used to be, back when he still had his honor and his sense. It was well before he ran to the party allied rightist machine, before he lived in a house that spoke of corruption and domestic terrorism with one half and pulled the good will lever with the other.
Edit:
1:52 pm - I've taken gender out of the equation because it confused my argument.
- Sounds Like::NPR - Weekend Edition Sunday
The election is finally within sight. I'm a little fatigued by all of it, by the candidates and the news and the downturn and the upticks. It's all getting to be a little much. Hell I still enjoy it though. I enjoyed it back in '04 when it was all about how damaging the gays and the terrorists were, back before the financial falling out, back before Katrina, before nearly everyone realized just how damaging the current administration actually has been. I guess some people (half the country, give or take a few hundred thousand) decided that four years of a terrible cold wasn't enough, that we didn't want something to take the edge off (that being the likely improvement brought by Kerry/Edwards, imperfect but still better), we needed to stick it out. And we all did in various ways, it seems most of us eventually just forgot about the Federal Government. I know I started to ignore the Executive and frankly the Legislative hasn't done half of what it said it would back in '06, when we had another chance to take the medicine and get some rest to finally beat the cold.
Now it feels like someone has called in the prescription and we're about to take delivery. The medicine we're getting is a blend of old and new. It is the unknown peering into the faces of millions of Americans who are all tired of coughing, who all want the script for change. We're all looking at it, we're all scared. We all wonder what happens if. None of us know what to do really, how to make ourselves look busy. We don't know how to make it seem like we're all okay with what's happened in the past eight years. How do we move on from it? How do we start fixing the walls and the hearts? I feel more strongly about this election than I did in '04 and '06 because it looks like this will be one for the history books. It looks like things are going to go well for the change, that the medicine will at least get delivered and then it's up to all of us to figure out how the hell we're supposed to take it.
My analogy aside, I support Senator Obama. I have since he announced on a cool February day in 2007. I like him and I believe in him. He has made mistakes, he has broken some of his promises and that comes with running for office. I know this because I am neither naive nor am I blinded completely by righteous morality. It seems a good politician knows when to say "I'm making a change and I'm sorry if it isn't what I said in the first place." It's good to see someone running for office who can adapt, who can write his own books and read his own speeches, who can orate, who can truely inspire! He does have finesse, he does have flash and what's so wrong with that? He is also full of intellect and reflection, of morals and confidence. Obama is imperfect, he is like everyman generally and in one way specifically, he knows that he is imperfect. He knows that even as President he will still grow and learn and somehow I think, and it's still not something I'm allowing myself to think for too long, I think he is going to find a way to communicate this to the American public without loosing their support. He has told us all that he is strong and that he can protect us and it seems like people hear his words and they get his honesty. I have the faith, I have the wide eyes and the spirit of a centrist bipartisian who wants to see our nation return to a place that is better for all of us not just because we become safe and wealthy, but because we find our respect again.
Now it feels like someone has called in the prescription and we're about to take delivery. The medicine we're getting is a blend of old and new. It is the unknown peering into the faces of millions of Americans who are all tired of coughing, who all want the script for change. We're all looking at it, we're all scared. We all wonder what happens if. None of us know what to do really, how to make ourselves look busy. We don't know how to make it seem like we're all okay with what's happened in the past eight years. How do we move on from it? How do we start fixing the walls and the hearts? I feel more strongly about this election than I did in '04 and '06 because it looks like this will be one for the history books. It looks like things are going to go well for the change, that the medicine will at least get delivered and then it's up to all of us to figure out how the hell we're supposed to take it.
My analogy aside, I support Senator Obama. I have since he announced on a cool February day in 2007. I like him and I believe in him. He has made mistakes, he has broken some of his promises and that comes with running for office. I know this because I am neither naive nor am I blinded completely by righteous morality. It seems a good politician knows when to say "I'm making a change and I'm sorry if it isn't what I said in the first place." It's good to see someone running for office who can adapt, who can write his own books and read his own speeches, who can orate, who can truely inspire! He does have finesse, he does have flash and what's so wrong with that? He is also full of intellect and reflection, of morals and confidence. Obama is imperfect, he is like everyman generally and in one way specifically, he knows that he is imperfect. He knows that even as President he will still grow and learn and somehow I think, and it's still not something I'm allowing myself to think for too long, I think he is going to find a way to communicate this to the American public without loosing their support. He has told us all that he is strong and that he can protect us and it seems like people hear his words and they get his honesty. I have the faith, I have the wide eyes and the spirit of a centrist bipartisian who wants to see our nation return to a place that is better for all of us not just because we become safe and wealthy, but because we find our respect again.![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
