Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I tend toward pessimism. So, in an effort to reset the universal balance of my life, I offer the following:
Today is a good day. The sun is shining and I don't need a jacket in this first week in November. The leaves have started to change colors. I wrote a lecture for yesterday's classes, then decided to review instead. My students confirmed that some of them, more than a few, are actually getting it. So, instead of spending my Wednesday struggling through mid-week exhaustion to put a lecture together, I'm relatively relaxed. My hair looks pretty good today.
And . . . change is on the horizon. Tomorrow, I'm lecturing on the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Sometimes, life just works out. I can't help but think about an August afternoon before I was born, when a preacher from Georgia stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered one of the best-known speeches in our history. I can't say it better than he did, and I won't even try.
"With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true."
-----Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream," March on Washington, August 28, 1963
Today is a good day.
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Politics Georgia-Style
According to my trusty calendar, it's time for the Georgia State Fair, when folks from far and wide bring their oversized livestock and produce to the center of the state for a rem
inder of how simple life used to be. According to georgiastatefair.org, the fair is in Macon. Last time I checked, the state fairgrounds were in Perry, about 20 minutes south of Macon.
My only visit to the fairgrounds was for my last job in Georgia. In an effort to equalize travel for everyone, we had a statewide meeting in Perry, as close to the center of the state as you can get. The meeting was in a room that overlooked one of the indoor arenas. The first day wasn't bad. The second day, we learned that the room was not soundproof. Our meeting was interrupted by a loudspeaker announcing the beginning of some sort of horse competition. The rest of our meeting was punctuated by "So, let's hear it for..." followed by applause. We soon learned the room wasn't smell-proof either. We didn't have any more meetings at the fairgrounds.
According to my local paper, Georgia's candidates for US Senate were treated to a similar reception during their debate at the fair last night. The paper reports that "a rowdy crowd of 300 cheered, jeered, and often drowned out the candidates." Sitting Senator Saxby Chambliss apparently had a huge "Kick Me" sign on, as the other candidates criticized his support of the recent bail-out package. Their attacks were supported by "backers, most of them bused in from Atlanta." Leave it to the damn eco-conscious Atlanta carpetbaggers to ruin a perfectly good rural folk hootenanny.
But Chambliss wasn't without supporters. Scattered throughout the crowd, people who apparently drove their own cars to the fair "waved 'Saxby' signs and offered up sustained 'boos'" when another candidate mentioned Barack Obama. One woman even "hollered, 'Bomb Obama!'" That's classy, real classy. I'm guessing the woman is very familiar with "being bombed."
While the debate crowd grew more and more partisan and less and less dignified, "outside the cavernous arena, fairgoers munched on funnel cake and pork butt on a sti
ck." Now I consider myself a good Georgian, but hell if I know what "pork butt . . . on a steeek" is. Unfortunately, the fair's website doesn't explain it either. After further research (which was a really good use of my time), I learned that pork butt on a stick is a member of the barbecue family, like a shiskabob of pork butt. I just know that there has never been a day when I've thought, "I'd sure like a pig's ass on a stick right about now. And a side of funnel cake. That would really hit the spot." I also know that if I ever form a band, I'm calling it, "Pork Butt on a Stick."
If you ask me, sounds like there was a lot of ass-chewing both inside and outside the "cavernous arena." Almost makes me wish I'd been in Perry last night, and I assure you that I've never made that statement before.
inder of how simple life used to be. According to georgiastatefair.org, the fair is in Macon. Last time I checked, the state fairgrounds were in Perry, about 20 minutes south of Macon.My only visit to the fairgrounds was for my last job in Georgia. In an effort to equalize travel for everyone, we had a statewide meeting in Perry, as close to the center of the state as you can get. The meeting was in a room that overlooked one of the indoor arenas. The first day wasn't bad. The second day, we learned that the room was not soundproof. Our meeting was interrupted by a loudspeaker announcing the beginning of some sort of horse competition. The rest of our meeting was punctuated by "So, let's hear it for..." followed by applause. We soon learned the room wasn't smell-proof either. We didn't have any more meetings at the fairgrounds.
According to my local paper, Georgia's candidates for US Senate were treated to a similar reception during their debate at the fair last night. The paper reports that "a rowdy crowd of 300 cheered, jeered, and often drowned out the candidates." Sitting Senator Saxby Chambliss apparently had a huge "Kick Me" sign on, as the other candidates criticized his support of the recent bail-out package. Their attacks were supported by "backers, most of them bused in from Atlanta." Leave it to the damn eco-conscious Atlanta carpetbaggers to ruin a perfectly good rural folk hootenanny.
But Chambliss wasn't without supporters. Scattered throughout the crowd, people who apparently drove their own cars to the fair "waved 'Saxby' signs and offered up sustained 'boos'" when another candidate mentioned Barack Obama. One woman even "hollered, 'Bomb Obama!'" That's classy, real classy. I'm guessing the woman is very familiar with "being bombed."
While the debate crowd grew more and more partisan and less and less dignified, "outside the cavernous arena, fairgoers munched on funnel cake and pork butt on a sti
ck." Now I consider myself a good Georgian, but hell if I know what "pork butt . . . on a steeek" is. Unfortunately, the fair's website doesn't explain it either. After further research (which was a really good use of my time), I learned that pork butt on a stick is a member of the barbecue family, like a shiskabob of pork butt. I just know that there has never been a day when I've thought, "I'd sure like a pig's ass on a stick right about now. And a side of funnel cake. That would really hit the spot." I also know that if I ever form a band, I'm calling it, "Pork Butt on a Stick."If you ask me, sounds like there was a lot of ass-chewing both inside and outside the "cavernous arena." Almost makes me wish I'd been in Perry last night, and I assure you that I've never made that statement before.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Super Tuesday
Well, Super Tuesday has come and gone. The morning paper tells me that Barack Obama won my state. Approximately half of the voters in my town cast ballots for him. I was not one of them. Apparently, I'm not as hegemonic as I think I am.
According to today's paper: "Driven in part by strong support in Clarke County, Barack Obama ran away in the Georgia's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday." Gotta love local coverage. Wonder if Obama is still running. Did he cry, "Run away! Run away!" like the knights in Quest for the Holy Grail?
I talked briefly about the election in my classes yesterday. One student remarked that candidates who had dropped out of the race still appeared on the ballot. I said, "I know, John Edwards was still on the ballot." The student replied, "I voted on the Republican ticket and Giuliani was still there." Until he said that, I'd completely forgotten that I'm in a red state now. A very red state. A state that's so red, Mike Huckabee won here. If Huckabee wins the national election, I'm planning to evolve into another species, just to prove him wrong. Then, I'm moving to Canada.
According to today's paper: "Driven in part by strong support in Clarke County, Barack Obama ran away in the Georgia's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday." Gotta love local coverage. Wonder if Obama is still running. Did he cry, "Run away! Run away!" like the knights in Quest for the Holy Grail?
I talked briefly about the election in my classes yesterday. One student remarked that candidates who had dropped out of the race still appeared on the ballot. I said, "I know, John Edwards was still on the ballot." The student replied, "I voted on the Republican ticket and Giuliani was still there." Until he said that, I'd completely forgotten that I'm in a red state now. A very red state. A state that's so red, Mike Huckabee won here. If Huckabee wins the national election, I'm planning to evolve into another species, just to prove him wrong. Then, I'm moving to Canada.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
