The next 24 hours will be excruciating. Today alone, my eyes welled with tears multiple times. It’s almost too much to handle. First, it was watching a video of Springsteen playing “This Land is Your Land” at an Obama rally. Then it was hearing the news of Barack’s grandmother’s death. Then it was reading an account of what one man learned from canvassing for Obama. Then it was watching a HuffPo slideshow of people shedding tears of Obama joy. I am generally not the patriotic sort (flags and anthems make me queasy; America, in my mind, stands for all that is wrong with the world), but footage of Obama supporters, waving flags, watching Obama with incredible hope in their eyes—it gets me.
I honestly don’t know what I’ll do if Obama doesn’t win. I haven’t yet been able to swallow that possibility. Let’s just not go there.
Here’s my Obam-a-Lantern, which my friend Greg and I carved last week. For whatever reason, yeswecarve.com didn’t post it. So I’ll post it myself:
Here’s to hoping tomorrow brings us some good news. I think we all could really use it.
8 responses so far ↓
1 TimsHead // Nov 3, 2008 at 7:58 pm
At a hockey game Saturday, I turned to friends after The Star-Spangled Banner and said there’s a possibility I could be much prouder to sing it come next weekend’s games.
Though I must say O Canada still has the easier melody.
2 michael5000 // Nov 3, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I can’t believe your pumpkin didn’t make YesWeCarve. I just lost my faith in democracy.
3 Truly // Nov 4, 2008 at 10:12 am
HAPPY ELECTION DAY, LAURA! I’ve got a really good feeling about today. And I know what you mean about the emotional roller coaster. This has nothing to do with the fact that I’m PMS-ing, I’m sure: I got teary eyed standing in line at the polls this morning. The line was just so diverse! Our hood is known for its diversity, but still, its not always something that is evident at the polls. Really young people, really old people, white people, black people, Indian-Americans, Thai-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, new citizens with mother-tounge accents still intact, old citizens born and bred in Chicago, people shaking hands and giving high-fives to each other as they left the polls. It was so kick ass. Honestly. It made me really proud to be in a country with so many different people. It made me so thankful to have a man like Obama to bring us all together.
4 lizzy // Nov 4, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Even in my tiny Vermont town (would be fun to discuss whether it qualifies as “real America” or not) the polling site was wicked busy at 7:15 when I got there.
Apparently there is an election law in Vermont that requires all voters to speak their names in a LOUD, CLEAR VOICE (this is how it is written on the signs). In some polling sites there is a “caller” who takes someone’s name and then is the designated person to shout out the name in the LOUD, CLEAR VOICE. Apparently Vermonters combat voter fraud through volume. Decidedly low-tech, effective, and hilarious.
5 Boo // Nov 4, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I am on pins and needles here. Our polls close at 730 and by 8 the eastern seaboard to Indiana should be figured. That should do it.
Your carving skills are killer btw.
Do you sometimes like a poppy tune from the 70s-80s? If so, ELO’s Mr. Blue Sky is a good song that hopefully will fit the evening and morning well. If all goes well, it’ll be blaring here at around 8 pm.
6 Jocelyn // Nov 5, 2008 at 7:44 am
WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO! Hope is alive and well, and for the first time since I’ve been of voting age, I have some restored confidence in our system. I was so nervous last night, wondering, like you, what would I do if Obama lost? (Thank god for my Canadian citizenship…but alas, not much need for that this time around!)
Congratulations. Mydogischelsea and the millions of dedicated, idealistic minds have made my–and your–dream a reality.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
7 The Forces That Be // Nov 5, 2008 at 11:30 pm
You’re Welcome.
8 malahat sunset // Nov 6, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Hello…uh, hello? MDIC? Anybody there? Or are you just so overwhelmed you can’t put fingertip to keyboard yet? I was expecting a blog bright and early on Nov 5th.
That’s okay. I’m saying what a lot of other people are saying: WOW! I don’t believe it. He did it! I didn’t think I’d see this in my lifetime. (I didn’t think enough Americans were brave enough to vote for a black man to be president; I fully expected the Bradley Effect to kick in once the voting booth curtains were closed).
Like I told you, I was astounded when Fox, of all stations, declared Obama the president fairly early in the evening (and by the way, what are you doing answering your phone while you’re driving?!?)