Hungover?
Well? Are you? A little partying last night? Or maybe not. I will admit here that I did vote for Obama. I will also say that he is the first presidential candidate I have voted for in many years that didn’t represent a vote *against* someone else. I did once vote for a Planet Ann Arbor school board candidate that I believed in but it was my beloved friend Sari. We fought side-by-side in the streets here when the school board killed MYA, our beloved alternative middle school. A successful alternative school of choice. We lost. Sari ran for office and I helped support her victory. We had coffee together every week back in the day. It’s 10 years later and she left the school board long ago and we both have real jobs now but we still keep in touch and meet when we can.
I am cautiously optimistic about Obama. delete long uneducated rant about the war and “credit default swaps”, whatever the heck they are. I am sorry that I don’t share the fever for change that many others do. I want to believe that change will happen and I will do my own tiny little part (whatever that is) to help. But there is a lot to do and a lot of people will have to work together to accomplish anything. Obama is one person and I do not think he is a superhero. And don’t forget that there are still lots of folks out there, some of them our own friends and relatives, who did not vote for Obama. We all have to get along.
So, onward. Slow if need be. Steady as she goes. Tolerance please toward people who don’t share your opinion. Whatever it is.
Meantime, to make up for my dead aminal photos on Monday, today I have posted a slide show of my own little woods. The school district owns the woods but it is behind my own little house. *Little* is the operative word here. It takes me less than five minutes to walk the loop. But it has its own beauty. Click here or on the pic. I promise there are no dead aminals.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Yes! The answer would be yes, a little hung over. . . and a little sleep deprived from being so pumped up about election results. I watched with a large gaggle of Lopezians in the Community Center for the Arts, with the TV on a huge screen. We had live music including a bizarre Klezmer band of assorted instruments including a trombone, and afterwards a Soca/Salsa type band. . .and finally dancing to recorded music. There were many cheers and tears. I found myself incredibly touched by Obama’s articulate nature, and his sense of this country as part of a whole world. Watching Kenyan’s dance in Kisumu on the TV, side by side with my gracious friend who gave us use of her home in Kenya when I traveled to Africa was gratifying. I didn’t realize how tense I was about the election until I realized my relief at not having to find another country to live in should Palin have become our president. It will be a long road to restore our economy and our relations in the world, and for the first time in many years, I too share hope that we want to do that. People have shown up and let their votes and voices be counted. I’m enjoying a new feeling of pride in our nation, (along with the hangover/exhaustion), and I’m happy to feel that way. It is a new day!
November 5th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Aimee, YOU SAID IT very eloquently! I cannot – nor will I try to – add to your words!!
November 5th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Guilty! But never a more pleasant one. Imagine waking up to what you thought was just a dream …
November 6th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Yes, a little bit. However, I’d rather comment on your pictures. I love #7, slightly different than the front shot. I love the russet oak leaves contrasting with the yellow ones. Hickory, maybe?
November 6th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I got about 4 hours of sleep Tuesday night — just too excited to go into slumber. I got home after the 11:00 declaration and got into bed to listen to the NPR coverage. but I could hear a large crowd of happy people thru the window and got back up, dressed, and drove downtown. finally found the happy mass of students exiting the diag. they were marching down State St and on to Liberty – right behind my car. so lots of high fives and horn honking and hooting. after a bit of that I headed home quickly so I could be back in bed and listening to Obama’s speech. with the adrenaline still flowing very strongly…
I am so hopeful and happy. the road is long and very difficult, but I have real hope for the first time in a long time.
November 6th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Today is my hangover day – adrenaline from two public meetings yesterday (different subjects). But back to Happy Tuesday …
Of course, on the west coast the news was blared forth moments after the polls closed (there were some that still had people voting, although the doors had closed), but I was not listening at that point. I had decided that since I had work to do (due on Wednesday), that our governors race was predicted to be razor thin, and I didn’t really want to listen to predictions all night, that I would “watch” (read listen) to movies instead. OK, I really wanted to see what it would be like to have to wait, like the eastern time zone, so I did not turn on the TV until 11:15. Of course since it was not top of the hour, they were reporting the local/state races. It took a few minutes before they got back around to the presidential race. I admit I felt a surge. But I kept my head down and worked until 2 AM. Bonus was that I got to hear all of the speeches in their entirety, albeight a bit late. I though McCain had a wonderful concession speech, and wondered where that delivery had been during the campaign. I am so happy to listen to articulate people. As with Aimee I was in despair about Palin – too scary to think about.
November 9th, 2008 at 2:01 am
I’m a little late to comment on this, but even on Saturday night I’m still basking in the after-glow (and maybe even still a little hungover!) Yes, Obama’s road is daunting. I sure as HELL wouldn’t want that job, even if I was qualified for it (which Palin WAS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE). But, I do think that he has what it takes to do the best job possible. I so admire his calm, his steadiness, his maturity, his insight. He is willing to listen, which is something that hasn’t been the case for far too long. His presidency won’t be perfect — it can’t be — but I feel so much hope that it will be an honest, straight-forward, and down-to-earth effort to pull us out of this quagmire. I know it won’t happen overnight. (And…he needs to be wrapped in Kevlar and surrounded by legions of Secret Service Agents for probably EVER…)