Skip = 380, people.
Nov. 8th, 2004 12:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jlhSo, I wasn't really clear about this before, but after I voted, I split for things south of here.
Tuesday afternoon I stopped off to have lunch with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
msscribe and hang out with weatherby. Then back on the train to good friend P's house where we sadly watched Jon Stewart and then went to bed.
The next morning we ate some breakfast, packed the car, and took off for the Shenandoah National Park. (Along the way, we listened to Edwards and Kerry's concession speeches, and I have to admit, they made me feel better.) We spent four lovely days wandering about the woods, taking long drives and eating good food and staying in a sweet little cabin that had a breathtaking view, in a little old-time resort that dates from the turn of the century and made me feel like a cross between camp and Dirty Dancing. I have to say, while the landscape was very similar to my own home, and while a small town is a small town is a small town in many ways, I really prefer my woods of Maine red neck white trash to the VA ones. I suppose it's the devil you know, or something. However, we did rejoice at every single brave little Kerry-Edwards sign we saw, and yes, even in the wilds of Virginia, there were plenty of 'em. So there.
Saturday it was back to DC and we saw The Motorcycle Diaries, which was much less earnestly annoying than I'd feared (one word: Sundance) and less agit-prop than some reviews had implied. (Or maybe I'm just a big Bolshie.) P grew up among his mother's Argentian friends, so the accents made him all nostalgic for his youth. Then this morning I had a lovely brunch withevil_erato, who also took me to the train, and then I was home and ready to plow through LJ.
I read the still-hopeful Tuesday afternoon-evening posts with a lump in my throat.
I read the sadly-facing-reality Tuesday night-Wednesday morning posts with empathy.
I read the I'm-moving-to-Canada posts with some understanding, but mostly anger.
I read the we-ain't-giving-up-yet posts with joy and relief.
When I was part way through my read I got quite angry and wanted to make a big rant, so I'm glad that I wasn't actually here to do that. But I will say this: The first election I voted in was in 1988. I was 11 when Reagan won the first time, and by the time I voted I wondered if Democrats could really be president. (This was when the only Dem president in memory was Carter, who hadn't yet become the Best Ex President Ever.) And what happened? Bush Pere. And it sucked. And four years later the smart word was that he was unbeatable, because he'd just won a war and shit, so the big names stayed out of the Democratic primary.
And what did we get. Why, we got ourselves a William Jefferson Clinton.
But there won't be a quick fix this time. It's going to happen the long slow way. But I'm an African-American woman who has a Harvard education, which would have been illegal not that long ago, and unthinkable even more recently. So I'm living testament to the fact that change happens. Like Kerry said himself, this country keeps moving forward. My fellow Americans, move with us.
Or we will roll you over.
Tuesday afternoon I stopped off to have lunch with
msscribe and hang out with weatherby. Then back on the train to good friend P's house where we sadly watched Jon Stewart and then went to bed. The next morning we ate some breakfast, packed the car, and took off for the Shenandoah National Park. (Along the way, we listened to Edwards and Kerry's concession speeches, and I have to admit, they made me feel better.) We spent four lovely days wandering about the woods, taking long drives and eating good food and staying in a sweet little cabin that had a breathtaking view, in a little old-time resort that dates from the turn of the century and made me feel like a cross between camp and Dirty Dancing. I have to say, while the landscape was very similar to my own home, and while a small town is a small town is a small town in many ways, I really prefer my woods of Maine red neck white trash to the VA ones. I suppose it's the devil you know, or something. However, we did rejoice at every single brave little Kerry-Edwards sign we saw, and yes, even in the wilds of Virginia, there were plenty of 'em. So there.
Saturday it was back to DC and we saw The Motorcycle Diaries, which was much less earnestly annoying than I'd feared (one word: Sundance) and less agit-prop than some reviews had implied. (Or maybe I'm just a big Bolshie.) P grew up among his mother's Argentian friends, so the accents made him all nostalgic for his youth. Then this morning I had a lovely brunch with
evil_erato, who also took me to the train, and then I was home and ready to plow through LJ.I read the still-hopeful Tuesday afternoon-evening posts with a lump in my throat.
I read the sadly-facing-reality Tuesday night-Wednesday morning posts with empathy.
I read the I'm-moving-to-Canada posts with some understanding, but mostly anger.
I read the we-ain't-giving-up-yet posts with joy and relief.
When I was part way through my read I got quite angry and wanted to make a big rant, so I'm glad that I wasn't actually here to do that. But I will say this: The first election I voted in was in 1988. I was 11 when Reagan won the first time, and by the time I voted I wondered if Democrats could really be president. (This was when the only Dem president in memory was Carter, who hadn't yet become the Best Ex President Ever.) And what happened? Bush Pere. And it sucked. And four years later the smart word was that he was unbeatable, because he'd just won a war and shit, so the big names stayed out of the Democratic primary.
And what did we get. Why, we got ourselves a William Jefferson Clinton.
But there won't be a quick fix this time. It's going to happen the long slow way. But I'm an African-American woman who has a Harvard education, which would have been illegal not that long ago, and unthinkable even more recently. So I'm living testament to the fact that change happens. Like Kerry said himself, this country keeps moving forward. My fellow Americans, move with us.
Or we will roll you over.
