So, my attempts at writing haiku paid off. I won the Knitters for Obama haiku contest! OK, so the prizes were awarded with a random number generator, but I'll be receiving specially dyed "Audacity" sock yarn as a prize! Now I'll never win the lottery--used up all my good karma on this. :-)
And now I have to knit socks. My first pair was not so successful. One of the socks was almost wearable. The other; not so much. I'm confident that I can knit socks now, though, since I've honed some of the skills needed since I tried with that first pair.
As cold as it's getting now, I think I'll need some hand-knit socks. Wonder if I could knit fur socks? Brrr. . . .
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
What she said
Sheryl Crow says it so much better than I can:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheryl-crow/a-new-america_b_141230.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheryl-crow/a-new-america_b_141230.html
It's a beautiful day! President-elect Barack Obama
In so many ways, today doesn't look much different than yesterday. I'm still looking for a job. The bank account is still dwindling. Winter is coming. But. . . President-elect Barack Obama.
Those words fill me with hope.
It's the morning after. The morning after an incredible day. President-elect Barack Obama. I know it will be a long, hard road ahead, but at least I can put one foot in front of the other with hope now.
Here's what I felt yesterday and this morning, too, gleaned from my posts on different forums and emails to friends, in reverse chronological order.
From a posting on an Obama forum this morning:
I cried yesterday. I cried last night (happy tears), and I’m crying this morning.
The soundtrack of my life this morning is pretty loud. It started out with U2’s “It’s a Beautiful Day,” and it’s moved on to Springsteen’s “The Rising” again.
His words seem to sum it up so well:
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin’ on the end of my line
Sky of blackness and sorrow ( a dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness ( a dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear ( a dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow ( a dream of life)
Your burnin’ wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life
Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight
It’s that “dream of life” part that seems particularly fitting this morning.
(And yes, I’m still crying.)
Last night, from posts on an Obama forum:
Wow. I head for bed with a heart full of hope. It feels good.
What an amazing man. But, as he reminded us, it’s not about him. It’s about us. Thank heaven that he will lead us toward the place where we can be our best.
In answer to a person who posted on an Obama forum that she did not vote for Obama, but that she was confident that he would help preserve the freedoms she fought for (as a member of the armed forces):
Thank you for what you’ve done for our country. Thank you for helping us keep those liberties that were set for us more than 200 years ago. You’re right; we may not always agree, but we can agree to disagree and get on with trying to make our world a better place.
When the media announced that Obama had more than enough electoral votes (posts from an Obama forum):
President-elect Barack Obama! President-elect Barack Obama! PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA! PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA!
Wow! President-elect Obama! It feels so good to type that. Wow. Just wow.
I bet his grandmother can hear the cheers in heaven now!
Wow! It’s really happening! I have chills! And I’m crying again!
God bless President-elect Obama, and the United States of America!
From an email to my sister:
I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders. I know there will be tough times ahead (yes, I'm still looking for a job), but now it's easier to face them with hope. Yes we can! And, yes, I'm crying again.GTG--President-elect Obama is ready to speak.
Earlier yesterday, posted on an "I didn't vote for Obama" thread:
Again. I’m
crying again. Here’s who I voted for:
This is at the Obama rally at St. Louis in October, on his 12th birthday (he asked to go because he wanted to, in his words, see history). Yes, he went to the poll with me today, and he marked my ballot.
And that’s why I’m crying. Again.
Earlier in the afternoon, in a dark moment (on an Obama forum):
Wow…I need to borrow some of your hope! I am scared. I spent much of the afternoon with tears oozing out, and they’re not far from the surface now. We need this so badly. So badly. I keep telling myself not if, but when. I’m trying to visualize victory, but it’s really hard. So, hope for me, too, please. I’ll hope with you as soon as I can find it.
A comment about race on an Obama forum; my son's perspective:
He said, when he was about five, that it doesn’t matter what color a person’s skin is, because we all bleed red just the same.
After I voted, in an email to a group of friends who had been discussing our voting experiences:
I just came back from the polls. We vote in a small Baptist church. Usually, we vote in the foyer, but today they had cleared the sanctuary and it was full of voters. I didn't have to wait long; five minutes maybe. J marked my ballot for me, as has been our custom for several years. We voted electronically. I whipped out the digital camera and snapped a couple of pix of the screens; you can see one on Facebook. I had tears oozing out as we marked the ballot--and on the drive home. They're not far from the surface now. No mascara for me today. I, too feel such hope. I NEED that hope. And it does feel like one of those life-altering events (remember where you were when you heard John Lennon had been shot? I do.). I pray it will be.
So, I wore blue. Driving into and out of the polling place parking lot, I blasted Springsteen's The Rising, which they had played at the Obama rally. Those are the only two legal bits of propaganda I could think of.
I pray that there are enough of us who feel the weight of today's possibility to make it real. I'm afraid to go back to fivethirtyeight.com. I can't bear to turn on MSNBC. It's going to be a long night. On pins and needles.
Getting ready to go to the polls (posted on an Obama forum):
So, here’s my playlist as I get ready to go vote. It’s been a calming sort of influence. Hope it works for some of you, too. Springsteen’s The Rising, The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, Hendrix’s Star-Spangled Banner and a whole bunch of U2!
(Heads off to vote sans mascara because I don’t have any that’s water-proof! )
The night before, after Ms. Dunham's death was announced, from a post on an Obama forum:
I’m crying, too, that Obama’s grandmother won’t get to see her grandson become president. I’m crying for him, because what should be the most gratifying day of his life (I’m praying) will now forever be tinged with grief. I’m crying for his little girls. My heart hurts for him.
Last week:
And, although we went to a huge rally in St. Louis, I didn't get to shake Obama's hand. But I can say that I did shake the hand today of a person who shook his hand.
Those words fill me with hope.
It's the morning after. The morning after an incredible day. President-elect Barack Obama. I know it will be a long, hard road ahead, but at least I can put one foot in front of the other with hope now.
Here's what I felt yesterday and this morning, too, gleaned from my posts on different forums and emails to friends, in reverse chronological order.
From a posting on an Obama forum this morning:
I cried yesterday. I cried last night (happy tears), and I’m crying this morning.
The soundtrack of my life this morning is pretty loud. It started out with U2’s “It’s a Beautiful Day,” and it’s moved on to Springsteen’s “The Rising” again.
His words seem to sum it up so well:
May I feel your arms around me
May I feel your blood mix with mine
A dream of life comes to me
Like a catfish dancin’ on the end of my line
Sky of blackness and sorrow ( a dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (a dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness ( a dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear ( a dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow ( a dream of life)
Your burnin’ wind fills my arms tonight
Sky of longing and emptiness (a dream of life)
Sky of fullness, sky of blessed life
Come on up for the rising
Come on up, lay your hands in mine
Come on up for the rising
Come on up for the rising tonight
It’s that “dream of life” part that seems particularly fitting this morning.
(And yes, I’m still crying.)
Last night, from posts on an Obama forum:
Wow. I head for bed with a heart full of hope. It feels good.
What an amazing man. But, as he reminded us, it’s not about him. It’s about us. Thank heaven that he will lead us toward the place where we can be our best.
In answer to a person who posted on an Obama forum that she did not vote for Obama, but that she was confident that he would help preserve the freedoms she fought for (as a member of the armed forces):
Thank you for what you’ve done for our country. Thank you for helping us keep those liberties that were set for us more than 200 years ago. You’re right; we may not always agree, but we can agree to disagree and get on with trying to make our world a better place.
When the media announced that Obama had more than enough electoral votes (posts from an Obama forum):
President-elect Barack Obama! President-elect Barack Obama! PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA! PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA!
Wow! President-elect Obama! It feels so good to type that. Wow. Just wow.
I bet his grandmother can hear the cheers in heaven now!
Wow! It’s really happening! I have chills! And I’m crying again!
God bless President-elect Obama, and the United States of America!
From an email to my sister:
I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders. I know there will be tough times ahead (yes, I'm still looking for a job), but now it's easier to face them with hope. Yes we can! And, yes, I'm crying again.GTG--President-elect Obama is ready to speak.
Earlier yesterday, posted on an "I didn't vote for Obama" thread:
Again. I’m
crying again. Here’s who I voted for:This is at the Obama rally at St. Louis in October, on his 12th birthday (he asked to go because he wanted to, in his words, see history). Yes, he went to the poll with me today, and he marked my ballot.
And that’s why I’m crying. Again.
Earlier in the afternoon, in a dark moment (on an Obama forum):
Wow…I need to borrow some of your hope! I am scared. I spent much of the afternoon with tears oozing out, and they’re not far from the surface now. We need this so badly. So badly. I keep telling myself not if, but when. I’m trying to visualize victory, but it’s really hard. So, hope for me, too, please. I’ll hope with you as soon as I can find it.
A comment about race on an Obama forum; my son's perspective:
He said, when he was about five, that it doesn’t matter what color a person’s skin is, because we all bleed red just the same.
After I voted, in an email to a group of friends who had been discussing our voting experiences:
I just came back from the polls. We vote in a small Baptist church. Usually, we vote in the foyer, but today they had cleared the sanctuary and it was full of voters. I didn't have to wait long; five minutes maybe. J marked my ballot for me, as has been our custom for several years. We voted electronically. I whipped out the digital camera and snapped a couple of pix of the screens; you can see one on Facebook. I had tears oozing out as we marked the ballot--and on the drive home. They're not far from the surface now. No mascara for me today. I, too feel such hope. I NEED that hope. And it does feel like one of those life-altering events (remember where you were when you heard John Lennon had been shot? I do.). I pray it will be.
So, I wore blue. Driving into and out of the polling place parking lot, I blasted Springsteen's The Rising, which they had played at the Obama rally. Those are the only two legal bits of propaganda I could think of.
I pray that there are enough of us who feel the weight of today's possibility to make it real. I'm afraid to go back to fivethirtyeight.com. I can't bear to turn on MSNBC. It's going to be a long night. On pins and needles.
Getting ready to go to the polls (posted on an Obama forum):
So, here’s my playlist as I get ready to go vote. It’s been a calming sort of influence. Hope it works for some of you, too. Springsteen’s The Rising, The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, Hendrix’s Star-Spangled Banner and a whole bunch of U2!
(Heads off to vote sans mascara because I don’t have any that’s water-proof! )
The night before, after Ms. Dunham's death was announced, from a post on an Obama forum:
I’m crying, too, that Obama’s grandmother won’t get to see her grandson become president. I’m crying for him, because what should be the most gratifying day of his life (I’m praying) will now forever be tinged with grief. I’m crying for his little girls. My heart hurts for him.
Last week:
And, although we went to a huge rally in St. Louis, I didn't get to shake Obama's hand. But I can say that I did shake the hand today of a person who shook his hand.
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