I know you expected the granddaddy of all rants today, but no, I'm not going there.
Instead, I want to express my gratitude for living in a country in which citizens select their leaders. Recently I said to Kristin, "Aren't you glad that we don't live in a country where you might awaken one morning to find that an army killed our President overnight and has selected a new leader for us? What if you looked out the window this morning and saw big tanks rolling down our street with soldiers holding guns at the ready, looking at all of our houses suspiciously?"
And I'm glad to be alive to see both an African American and a female be key figures in the race for the top two offices in our country.
So, I want to say thank you to everyone, such as my father, a decorated WWII veteran, who made sacrifices this generation can't really comprehend so that we can stand in a long, long line to cast a vote today. God bless America.
*EDIT: Arrived at polling site at 5:45 AM, done at 7:00 AM. Go Maverick!
************* And now on to the latest update by the crack reporting staff here at 2nd Cup, lifted from the Saturday edition of the Muncie newspaper. Do not miss what happened when the Bad Breath Bandit left the store:
Police Search for Bandit with Bad Breath
Muncie police are looking for a bandit with bad breath who held up the Save On Liquor Store, 1920 S. Madison St., late Thursday.
A male wearing a ski mask and hooded sweatshirt walked into the store around 10:45 p.m. and demanded cash from a clerk after displaying a handgun, according to police detective Sgt. Mike Engle.
The clerk indicated the suspect had bad breath.
A surveillance video showed the robber put the gun in a pocket of his sweatshirt as he left the store, and the gun discharged.
Police checked with local hospital emergency rooms and other medical clinics to find a possible gunshot victim, but no suspect was immediately found.
Tonight, for the first time in 23 years of marriage, every white sock in my whites load had a mate at the end of the folding!
I KNOW.
The universe, it must have aligned with something. All I know is, I suddenly found myself blurting out to Jorge, "It's part of reporting this event, this laundry-folding, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often."
Imagine Jorge's expression after that! [snort!]
Now I know exactly how Chris Matthews feels! How can I explain it? It was sort of like that static electricity when you pull two socks apart, only better. Anyway, I now have hope that I'll match white socks again. Yes, change is definitely in the air. And in the dryer, too! How lucky can I get?!
Ahh, the weekend post. Pictures are always good, right?
Monday, I'm back to recipes, and Tuesday, I'll probably stay in bed with my head under the covers. That means I only have Saturday and Sunday to vent, so ... look away, if you must.
For the like-minded, however, I offer a dozen famous/powerful people whose names begin with the apparently omnipotent letter "O," and please do not quit before the last suggestion or two of "O" power.
Augustus Octavius. Power: Commanded censuses (censi?). Had face on coinage, etc.
Tony Orlando. Two "Orlandos" for the price of one! Power: Cut a record-breaking single in the 70s that will memorialize his place in history next to that of Caesar Augustus Octavius. Far out!
Bill "Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" O'Reilly. Power: Completely frustrates Joy Behar. And for this, I am grateful.
The love of my young life, Donny Osmond. Power: To make young girls (now 50 year-old girls) swoon.
Rosie O'Donnell. Very powerful. Made you wince just then, right? Now that's pow-ah. And is it my imagination, or is her mouth the exact same shape as Donald Trump's?
Oliver Wendell Douglas from Green Acres. Power: Enticed a Fifth-Avenue, Penthouse-abiding Hungarian Princess to move to Shedtown. Musta been some proposal, wink, wink.
Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch. Power: May have single-handedly brought down this 20th Century American TV show icon. Who cares. The Bradys have cried all the way to the bank and back again 50 million times.
Oscar the Grouch. Power: Commanded seat of authority over all humans on Sesame Street, especially that wimpy Bob.
Mrs. O'Leary's Cow. Power: Started the Chicago fire. Behold the power of ... beef.
Joel Osteen. Power: Smiles in the face of sharing life with a very scary wife. Power over a couple of other people every week, too.
Oceanic Flight 815 Survivors. Perhaps the most powerful group ever in the world in spite of being fictional characters.
Barack Obama. Power: Persuasion.
Faster than a speeding senator. More powerful than a loco personal-motive. Able to leap long campaigns in a single bound.
Look! Up in the sky!
It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Obamaman!
Yes, it's Obamaman - strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men to organize communities.
Obamaman - who can change the course of oceans, bend rules about accepting public campaign funds with his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild mannered senator for a great national congress, fights the never ending battle for redistribution of wealth, family meetings with dubious international leaders, and the Barackian Way.
But THE most powerful O is: Oprah Winfrey. Obamaman didn't just hitch his wagon to a star; he hitched it to Sirius!
A couple of months ago, political talking head Susan Etsrich said something I have wanted to comment on here for a long time but saved for today. Now, however, I cannot recall her exact words. Even a Google search proved fruitless. Therefore, please pardon my paraphrasing below.
Basically, her remark began as a run-of-the-mill comment about how Americans grow weary of the din of campaigning: the stumping, the spin, the catering to special interests, etc.
Then, off-handedly, she said something like, "But it's part of who we [Americans] are--when you think about it, the noise is music--the music of freedom. Because one thing that sets us apart from many other countries is the way we peacefully elect our leaders. So when I hear the noise, I remind myself it's the music of freedom."
Well. That put the huffing and puffing of campaigning in another light for me.
As a result of Susan Estrich's casual observation, I have been rejoicing a little whenever I feel barraged with up-to-the-minute campaign coverage. I think, "Sure, the sound bites are obnoxious sometimes. But thank God we are free, free in so many ways, and choosing our highest leader is a great honor." After all, isn't that privilege--freedom from monarcy and dictatorship--what Independence Day was firstly all about? Thank you, Susan Estrich, for helping me celebrate my country and my freedom one more time.
Indiana. We don't have great slogans like, "Everything's bigger in Texas." But we could adopt the slogan "Everything's Crunchier in Indiana," since we deep fry everything, including our state bird, the pork fritter.
We have a big race track, a basketball hoop in every driveway, cornfields between every town, long winters and state fairs. We are known as a "fly-over" state, meaning, we don't garner much attention on a national political scale.
Until lately.
In fact, Saturday, my husband and daughter saw Barack Obama's jet fly in to our little municipal airport. Senator Obama spoke in a gym where my husband and I, as an unstoppable badminton team in 1985, won a PE tournament at Ball State University. So it's quite a historical site for two reasons now!
And today, Senator Obama is visiting the university where my eldest two attend. I'm wondering if he's going to hand out free tickets to a Dave Matthews concert like he did at IU. Because if there's anything co-eds need, it's more recreational opportunities thrown at them.
Honestly, I'm not crazy about any of the "big three," but I don't dislike any of the big three as much as some people. It's just so funny that suddenly, we hayseeds are being wooed by city slickers. I think we're enjoying it, even though we all know that after we cast our votes May 6, the clock will strike midnight here in the Heartland, and we will immediately turn back into Daisy Mae from L'il Abner, when we have had a taste of what it's like to be Catherine Zeta Jones.
But for now, Obama and Clinton are falling all over themselves bringing us flowers and candy and staring deeply into our eyes and telling us corn-growers that they "get" us.
Do they? By now, I'm sure you're sick of the familiar quote:
"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigration or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." - Barack Obama
In the interest of editing for conciseness, Mr. Obama could've just rolled all of those descriptions into one: "Unemployment turns small town people into rednecks." Or he could have borrowed another phrase that sums up his idea: "Religion is the opiate of the [jobless] people."
To be fair, Senator Obama has expressed regret over his choice of words but maintains his point. That's a little like eating crow but refusing to taste it. I'm more comfortable with someone who mispronounces "nuclear" and looks less than scholarly than with someone who excels at inspiring, moony speeches which smack of elitism.
I get the difference between religion as an institution versus a personal faith, but what an unfortunate gaffe to lump religious people with xenophobic, gun-slingin' Yosemite Sams. The statement is so telling.
I do cling to "religion." Or at least to an old rugged cross, and I'm not ashamed of that. I cling to Christ. I don't wave guns or hate people, not even ones who make me roll my eyes and shake my head or exchange concert tickets for votes.
Finally, this whole courting thing brought to mind lyrics from the 80s pop group Modern English's song "I'll Stop the World and Melt with You." The lyrics are perfectly suited to be Obama's theme song for seducing Indiana, mirroring his ubiquitous, hazy promise of change. Just check out these lyrics!
Moving forward using all my breath Making love to you was never second best I saw the world thrashing all around your face Never really knowing it was always mesh and lace I'll stop the world and melt with you You've seen the difference and It's getting better all the time There's nothing you and I won't do I'll stop the world and melt with you ...
I made a pilgrimage to save this human race (You should see why) Never comprehending a race that long gone by (I'll stop the world) I'll stop the world and melt with you ...
The future's open wide ... The future's open wide ...
I know you expected the granddaddy of all rants today, but no, I'm not going there. 
And I'm glad to be alive to see both an African American and a female be key figures in the race for the top two offices in our country.
