I Have Witnessed History

I am at a loss for words. I've just witnessed the biggest event in American history - I never thought I would see the day that my country, the United States, would elect an African-American as President.

I went over the ballot with my Bohunk, filled it out and drove them down to the Elections Bureau (because I didn't want to trust my vote to too many hands. Am I paranoid? See Election Day 2000 or 2004.) I barely slept Monday night and spent all day Tuesday fidgety and nervous. I ran through my head what I would do if I was let down again...move to Canada? Mexico? Do something bad so the cops could kill me and put me out of my misery? Grin and bear another four years of madness and hope I could keep my family afloat?

I waffled about whether I could watch the returns on TV. I wasn't sure if I could handle Obama's losing to McCain...but I also could not miss history in-the-making if Obama should actually win. I'm glad I made the decision to watch. As the electoral votes kept piling up on the Democratic side of the screen, I became more and more confident and excited. And when MSNBC put Obama's picutre on the screen and proclaimed him the next president of the United States, tears came to my eyes. I called my mother to share the moment with her, lamenting that my grandmother (who lived in a time where neither women or Blacks could vote) did not live long enough to see it happen.

I watched intently as McCain made his very gracious and eloquent concession speech (had he talked like that during the campaign, he might have won it.) I leaned forward when Obama finally came out to make his speech, proclaiming victory for himself and the American people. I stayed up until 1am watching the "post-game analysis." I was too amped up to sleep.

Today, now that I've had a chance to let it all sink in and assess the significance of this event to my life, I am a bit afraid. Afraid that politicians in Congress will be so bitter that they will do everything they can to make Obama ineffective. Afraid that some crazy nutjob will kill Obama before he can do anything worthwhile in office. Afraid that my country is so far gone that Obama can't save it - even though I realize that he can't undo what has been wrought for the past 8 years. And it didn't make me feel any better when McCain supporters booed when the senator mentioned Obama's name and tried to give him his props for a well-run campaign, decisive victory, and to pledge his support in the future when he returns to the Senate.

I find it interesting that the uber-right water-carriers are crying "foul", saying that the early voting must have been fraudulent. Saying that Obama's margin of victory was not that great (um, Bush only "won" by a little bit both times, and he cheated to get it...Obama win = 7,000,000+ popular vote difference, 6 percentage point difference, 2-to-1 electoral votes for him = royal ass-kicking in my book!) Saying that the Democrats do not have a "mandate" because they now control the White House, the House and the Senate (even though Bush said just that when he "won" 7 years ago).

And I'm also concerned that people are saying that, since an African-American has been elected to the highest office in America, racism is dead in our country. Unfortunately, that can't be further from the truth. Granted, I think the numbers of bigots diminish each generation, but this event will not change much right now. There will still be folks who don't like people of color, who think that we should all just go back to Africa, who thihk people like my son (or even Barack Obama) are "abominations" because they are of mixed heritage.

On the other hand, I am encouraged that my son was able to witness history. He said to me, "Obama is like me because he has one white parent and one Black parent. Does that mean I could be president?" I told my son that he could be whatever he wanted.

Yes we can.

I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of hope for me, my family, and my country. Things could get better. Can't really get too much worse than what we've been through so far, right?

Yes we can.

I was happy to see the true diversity of America in the thousands of faces crammed into the park in Chicago, all happy and crying and smiling and laughing and singing.

Yes we can.

I feel motivated to keep working hard to make life better for my family and make the future better for my children. It feels like a weight has been lifted and I can breathe again.

Yes we can.

I hope we can move forward, together, as a united nation, to increase our standing in the world to where it was before, when we were an example to other countries on how to treat others, when we helped others instead of only thinking about ourselves.

Yes we can.

Morganese Primer - Volume I

Teek ooo - "thank you"
I wuv ooo - "I love you"
cearoll - "cereal"
peen butta - "peanut butter"
popcorn - "popcorn" or "corn on the cob"
Oz - any small gray or black dog
Daisy - any Golden Retriever
Bender - any big yellow dog
cheese - "macaroni and cheese"
peese - "please"
boog - "bug"
strawbee - "strawberry"
gwape - "grapes"
shoeson - "shoes"
jammas - "pajamas"
hosee - "horse"
Spumbum Squarepints - "Spongebob Squarepants"

More later....

The Boy Is GENIUS!!

I'm not being very modest, am I?



So, my son was having "behavior issues" in kindergarten, i.e. he's not conforming to the teacher expectations and being a little automaton. He would make noises in class and bother other kids by constantly touching them on he head or arms or something. But in the same breath, the teacher would say "He is so smart! He's way ahead of the other kids academically..." We were told that he may be ADHD and should be put on medication to "even out his behavior". Hmmm...I didn't like the sound of that. So this year, we tried to head the problems off and gave his 1st grade teacher a bit of a "heads-up" that The Boy was not like other kids, and he would need a little extra attention. The Boy was then saddled with these "touching tallies"...every time he touched someone or acted out in some way, he would get a tally mark; 5 marks in a day, and he would lose something, like recess. The Bohunk and I were getting pretty discouraged with the whole thing, until his teacher said something during his last parent/teacher conference...she showed us his benchmark test scores, and he consistently scored much higher than what they'd expect from a kid his age. His teacher then suggested that we have him tested for the highly gifted program.

After figuring out where to do this, The Boy was tested with something called the CogAT and the Ravens Test (I have no clue what these are...ask your teacher-friends...). All I was told was that my son scored in the 95th percentile nationally for one test and 96th percentile for the other, and he qualifies for the DPS Gifted and Talented Program. Now I understand why he was having so many problems in class (with some help from his teacher reporting what he actually does in class) - he was BORED! He'd either finish his work way ahead of the other kids, so he'd bother them, or he wouldn't finish his work at all because he knew it already.

So now, my new crusade in The Boy's education is to find a school that can challenge him - as the NAACP says, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste".

Ice Cream Memories

I love ice cream.

I love many flavors of ice cream, but one in particular is very special.

You see, I spent lots of summers in my youth with my maternal grandparents, John and Caldonia Pennie. They would spoil the crap out of me while I was there from mid-June to mid-August (upside-down pineapple cake, oatmeal cookies with raisins, pound cake, any kind of cereal I wanted, watermelons, barbeque chicken done on one of those grills made from a 50-gallon drum...) But one of my most favorite things was Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. It tastes like nothing else I've ever had - not in Colorado, not anywhere else. And I, in my adult life, have never been able to find it here.

Well, now my Papa is gone (almost 12 years now) and my Gramma isn't doing so well anymore (she'll be 90 in May). All the things that remind me of them, I cherish. I miss going to their little house in Brownwood, Texas (1102 Crothers Street), shooting off fireworks in the street for the 4th of July, playing dominoes in the little seating area under the carport, listening to the katydids in the trees in the evening and catching lightning bugs in glass jars...but I digress.

The other day at work, a coworker and I had a discussion about sweet tea, Sonic and other things Southern. I mentioned that I wished I could just have some vanilla Blue Bell ice cream (hadn't had it in years, since my last trip to Texas a couple of years after I got married). She said, "There is one place in Denver you can get it - Russell Stover Candies on Colorado Blvd..." GASP!!!! Could it be true? The REAL Blue Bell vanilla ice cream?

So today, I had a reason to be in the area, and I swung by. Walked in the store, smelling all of the wonderful chocolate confections... The nice lady behind the counter said, "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for your vanilla Blue Bell ice cream."

"Come this way.." and she led me over to a counter with 24 flavors - but I just wanted to see... She handed me one of those little taster spoons and scooped out a bite. Into my mouth and....YESSSS!!! That's IT! All sorts of memories flooded back, and I almost cried.

"I'll take a pint." And I left the store with my prize.

I shared a bit with my mom when she came over tonight...but that's all she gets. She'll have to get her own. These are MY memories...one more piece to treasure. At least I'll have that to get when I want when my Gramma is gone.

Mini Rants - Part II

So, how Black does one have to be before you can be considered Black (or African-American for the politically correct)? Debra Dickerson , a writer for Salon.com thinks, in essence, that Barak Obama isn't really the next Black candidate for President of the United States because he is not descended from African slaves brought to America (his mother is English and his father is Kenyan)...and keep in mind that this woman is Black. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think that you had to be a certain kind of Black person to be "Black". She also said that because he went to a private college and had an upper-middle class upbringing, that he hasn't really participated in the "Black Experience" - being poor, discriminated against, underprivledged... This is what I think is wrong with a lot of Black people today - they are so consumed with how Black people as a race were enslaved and held down by "The Man" and all that other stuff, that they 1) hold themselves back and 2) tear down anyone else who became successful in breaking stereotypes. Seems to me Obama should be the one to identify himself as Black or not - it's his identity. If he went out there in the public and stated that he was White, people would laugh him out of town - the color of his skin and the texture of his hair gives away his heritage. But he can lay claim to either, neither, or both - his choice. Ms. Dickerson's view is divisive at best, and racist at worst.

So is anyone tired of the snow yet? Just got our Christmas lights down last weekend...

Got my PAFC swag for winning the Football Pick'em contest - SWEET!!! The Bohunk was upset though, 'cause the CD had Poison and Def Leppard on it...what does HE know!?!?!? :-)

The potholes are eating my car...

The Girl is walking all over the place (and her daddy, and her brother, and her Papa)...and taking over. But I guess that's the job of a princess...

The magnesium chloride is eating my car...

Did I say I do a lot of driving for my job? I do a lot of driving for my job - logged 880 miles last month. I SO need a new car - even just so I can get an odometer that works (mine broke at 173,379 about 8 months ago...)

The miles are eating my car...

Did this post just go from serious to just plain stupid? Thought I had more to say tonight...

One Liner Rant

I hate being the third wheel.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled life.

New Year, New Me (Ha!)

So to be short and sweet (since it's so late and I have a ton to do tomorrow), here are my resolutions for 2007:

1) Take better care of myself (i.e. buy myself things instead of talking myself out of them, or buying stuff for the husband/kids/house)

2) Be more spiritual (in whatever form that ends up taking)

3) Blog more than once a month

4) Work out

5) Read more

6) Have more fun

I did pretty good last year, until I got pregnant and then it all went out the window...

So what're YOU gonna do?