Lucidia

Election Day was long, but worth the wait. My trip to the polls was uneventful. Took about 30 minutes, no ID required (I was already on the list; here in Minnesota we just sign by our name on the list). I was #565 to vote that day (around 11 am), so they were handling about 100 people per hour.

Then the waiting started. I occupied much of the day watching reruns of “The West Wing” on video tape. Also took advantage of the warm temps to apply tung oil to my new windows in the TV room. Took a nap during a lull in the road construction still going on in front of my house. Baked “Stuffed Squash” as a wish for the “squashing” that I hoped would happen in the election . . .

Once the polls started to close I checked in occasionally with CNN, but I have no patience with all the talking heads on TV, so kept watching The West Wing until 9pm when Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert came on Comedy Central with Indecision’08. When the big announcement came at 10pm (CT) I switched over to WGN from Chicago and watched the celebration in Grant Park.

I was thrilled for Barack Obama and his family, relieved that any Republican attempts to steal the election were thwarted, in awe of the accomplishment, and very proud of my country. All of the talking and arm-twisting and cajoling was worth it (for once). I sat back and just absorbed the celebration and the speeches.

The morning after made me realize that this was the first time in my 28 years of voting that I was truly happy with the outcome of an election. I had supported a candidate that I believed in; AND HE WON!!

1980 had elected Reagan. The morning after that one I was so shocked by the outcome that I went into a pretty serious depression (helped along by John Lennon being murdered) for months (maybe years).

The Clinton years were a bit of a relief, but only financially. In terms of social policy, things continued down hill. After saying during the campaign that he would reverse the military’s policy on gays in the military, he almost immediately agreed to the inane “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Later he agreed to “Welfare Reform” that hurt millions of women and their children. And I’m not even mentioning his inability to keep his pants zipped . . .

The Bush years (senior and junior) are still too painful to think about. I was beginning to think that US society had become SO stupid and mediocracy so overwhelming that we would never elect a president who could speak in complete (even eloquent) sentences.

BUT WE DID!!

I’m not really ready to jump from “Yes We Can” to “Yes We Did”. As far as I’m concerned, this is just the first step. The real challenges of “Yes We Can” are yet to come. To fix the financial mess, provide health care to all our citizens, rejuvenate our education system, get out of Iraq, repair the planet, and restore the standing of our country with the world will require work and sacrifice by all of us. At least now (I hope) our government won’t try to brush the problems under the rug and tell us to “go shopping”. Most of us can’t afford to do that anyway.

We will all need to keep remembering “Yes We Can” and work together. I pray that the hole isn’t so deep as to be impossible to crawl out of. May God and the Secret Service protect President-elect Obama and his family. May we all call on the better part of our nature to look to the future.

God Bless Barack Obama

and

God Bless America

Peace,

Lucinda

Getting ready to head off to vote.  Drinking my coffee and waiting for my oatmeal to cook (so I’ll have a full tummy in case there’s a long line at the polls).

The day did not begin well.  The morons at Minneapolis Public Works picked today to start digging up the street in front of my house (which happens to be half a block from the local polling place).  At 6 am they arrived with their big truck and back hoe.  Since then they’ve added more heavy equipment.  They’ve just finished sawing the pavement and are now using jackhammers to break up the asphalt.

Some of you know that I have a bit of a bad history with jackhammers.  I worked in an office where they decided to jackhammer cinderblocks in the basement beneath my office at the same time they were tuckpointing bricks on the exterior of the building.  For a month I couldn’t hear myself think or talk on the phone because of the noise.  I lost a filling from the vibrations.  And I still have ringing in my ears.  Needless to say the sound and vibration of a jackhammer sets my nerves quite on edge.

I’m trying to re-vision the road work as part the revolutionary changes that I hope begin today . . . but it’s a stretch!

More after I return from the polls.

Made Thai Food tonight.  Have updated the recipe for Thai Eggplant with Broccoli to include the option of using bok choi instead of broccoli. Also made Evil Jungle Prince with Chicken.  No changes to that recipe.

Took a break from writing this post to watch Carlos Zambrano pitch a no-hitter.  The Cubs were playing the Astros, but in Miller Park in Milwaukee because Houston is underwater from Hurricane Ike.  The game wasn’t being televised, but ESPN cut away from their scheduled game to show the end of the no-hitter.  Positive sign for the remainder of this historic season!

To catch up on all the news in the past two months would be impossible, so I’ll try to just post the highlights:

As some of you know, I’ve been growing out my hair for several years. A few months ago, I decided to donate it, but it took a while to figure out which organization and what the requirements were, etc.

I ended up going with Pantene Beautiful Lengths because they are more focused on providing wigs for adults (and it seemed that many people were doing the “Locks of Love” thing for kids).

Finally, on August 22nd, I took the plunge. The before and after pics are below.

So now you know that the picture at the top of these pages is rather old (about 15 years old) . . .

My next post will deal with some of the craziness related to the recent Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota . . .

How about that All Star Game last night! I still don’t think an exhibition game should “count” in any way, but even I was moved by all those Hall of Famers gathered on the field at Yankee Stadium . . .

Yesterday I wrote about all the major league ballparks I’ve been to. I intended to go back and add links to each park, but it’s easier to just direct you to Ballparks of Baseball where you can see and find out about all the past, current and future parks. I’ve also got some additions/updates for that post coming soon . . .

I wish I had made it to Tiger Stadium and the old Brewers park. I’m glad that many of the “new” parks are modeled after the great parks of old . . . and I hope I don’t live to see the time when “all-purpose parks” come back into fashion . . .

In terms of minor league parks, here’s the beginning of my list:

• Bush Stadium in Indianapolis (Indianapolis Indians and some PanAm games)
• Memorial Park in Brainerd, MN where the Brainerd Bears play (or played in the mid-90s)
• American Legion Field and “Roger Maris Field” in Fargo, ND where the Fargo Red Hawks play (yes, I know they named the new park something OTHER than “Roger Maris Field”, but that’s because they were stupid and greedy); it’s something like Jack Williams/”The Nest” . . . WHATEVER!
• I’m pretty sure I saw the Columbus Knights play in Columbus, OH in the late 80s/early 90s
• I think I went with the Goodman gang to see the Kane County Cougars play at Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva, IL
• And of course, the Lakewood Blue Claws play at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, NJ. Go Blue Claws! Go Pinchy!

Then there’s the Spring Training trip to Florida (Spring 1997) with Mom, Dad, Aunt Rosemary & Uncle Dick:

• Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater, FL (Red Sox/Phillies)
• Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, FL (Yankees/White Sox)
• Legends Field in Tampa, FL (Rangers/Yankees)
• Ed Smith Stadium again (Tigers/White Sox)
• Jack Russell Stadium again (Rangers/Phillies & White Sox/Phillies)

How do I know which parks I’ve been to? Because I have a SCOREBOOK and keep score at almost every game. Sometimes I have to give up (due to rain or a game that is more fun to watch than to score) and some parts of the scorebook say things like “DINNER BREAK” or “BATHROOM BREAK”. Last year I read about some gals who go to games and keep score together, alternating innings. They write in “NPA” for “not paying attention” I like that one!