3rd House Journal

Wow

I almost have no words for it. Amazement, relief, pride, joy...

I was telling friends this weekend about hearing a management consultant many years ago discuss the differences in managing people of different generations. He said we form our view of the world when we're about 10 years old. I was 10 years old in 1968, the year that Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. There were race riots, police and protesters clashing in Chicago outside of the Democratic National Convention, student demonstrations on college campuses, and of course the war in Vietnam, all shown nightly on TV. I remember being very frightened.

And now this. One of the commentators last night noted the difference in the crowds at Obama rallies versus McCain rallies. The McCain rallies were almost universally white and older. The crowd in Grant Park in Chicago last night was a sea of all races and ages, but most heartening were all the fresh, enthusiastic young faces. This is America today and this is our future.

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I stayed up very late, alas still waking at 6am. As the sun came up, I heard birds chirping, which is unusual for November in Boston. We have plenty of overwintering birds, but you don't usually hear them. We're having a couple of warm days. But to me it was like they couldn't stop talking about the election results either.

Elect-ricity

[Seen in one of the tonier sections of Belmont; 1:30pm, 10/19/08]

Although I'm not in a swing state and my vote will hardly matter in the electoral count, I will vote. I'm planning to run out mid-morning to the polls, less than a mile from work, and hopefully avoid long lines. I have a long-scheduled appointment after work, so I won't be able to vote tonight. While most everyone else is in line or attending an election party or just sitting home glued to the news, I'll be sitting with goop in my hair at the salon. With any luck Maddy will give me a big glass of wine.

The musician spent much of the weekend pestering people like Lorianne in New Hampshire to vote for Obama. I haven't heard from him, though when he dropped me off Saturday night he made some noises about getting together soon. The other candidate, the engineer, has been in touch several times, treating me more like a swing voter. But it's very early in those primaries, so I'm just declaring myself an Independent for now.