44 HALF BLACK

The shining eyes of Obama youth are upon us. In a world changed over night, a future promises your children and grandchildren a chance to say I was there when... As for me, I started last night with a phone call to the folks to see if they voted. "After chemo." my mother said. Priorities. Then the old man got on the line and told me how he voted for McCain because Obama only thought about himself. He's usually perceptive about this kind of crap, but this time I felt he was way off. What he took as self centered, I take as ego and confidence. And for a guy who didn't exactly like the Navy, he's way too impresed by McCain's military experience. As if to say crashing planes and being a POW makes for good Presidential training. I got disgusted and told him to put mom back on the line. She voted for McCain also, but for some reason it didn't bother me as much. She told me she just liked underdogs. I gave her a pass.
Then I went over to Slick's for a election results party. We kept flipping between CNN and Fox. It was painful. But at last my eye medicine arrived and all looked better. As Obama started to look like a shoein, I asked if John Stewart was on? Bam! It had just started. My TV clock was ticking away. Colbert and Stewart were in full effect. It was official. Two little Black girls were about to take up residence, with their parents, in the White House. In January 2009 the 44th, half black, half white, President of the United States will be sworn in. In the meantime, everyone is holding their breath. Yes we can.
I came home, flipped on ch. 13 and watched McCain's concession speech and Obama's acceptance speech. If that stiff armed old coot had been half as relaxed and gracious during the campaign as he was leaving it, I would've voted for him. By the time Obama got to the call and response portion of his "Yes we can." speech, I had had enough. Will the dashiki's and red bowties appear? Is Obama the selfless, compassionate leader he appears to be? Or is he some sort of meglomaniac, leading an adoring throng of lemmings off the cliff? I'd guess somewhere in between. I have a dream. We give him a chance.