November 01, 2004
if you pass GO, collect $200
11/1/04
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We lie in the autumn-hued valley of Reading, Pennsylvania tonight, having gone through all the training on Election Protection that we can handle. I really like this little city; miles of stunning rowhouses span the hillsides, and remind me of that Emily Dickinson poem about the train:
I like to see it lap the Miles --
And lick the Valleys up --
Speaking of trains, I knew Reading, PA the same way every other kid in America did - it's one of the spots on the Monopoly game board. Understanding that we couldn't wear any pro-Kerry wear to the strictly non-partisan Election Protection events, I made a few shirts that reflected my pro-Reading sensibilities:
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Everywhere I went tonight - the town hall, the Target, the Best Buy - the kids working the cash register wanted a shirt. If only I could get around the pesky licensing fees, I'd make a KILLING here, I tellsya!
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The very long, hot meeting for EP put us on full alert for the long list of Republican shenanigans most people expect, if not here, then in the surrounding counties. Reading was so fucked up in 2000 that they have a government agent at each polling site this time, and the ballots are in Spanish as well. 22,000 new Hispanic voters - 10% of the total in this county - were registered this month, which has tilted the whole town to the good guys.
I have spent over three years on this blog, talking about kidney stones, Celexa, mediocre pop songs, my beloved Tar Heels and RTVMP (Radio, Television and Motion Pictures - which used to be a major at Carolina). Since November 2002, however, I have bored many of you with my sulfur-fueled, clench-fisted hyper-rants about how much I despise our current administration. I have not felt hopeful about America or Americans. Until tonight. I'll say it once, loud and clear:
Kerry landslide.
[ed. note: by "landslide," I meant "natural disaster"]
Posted by irw at November 1, 2004 09:16 PMMy family used to take Amtrak sleeper cars to Reading every Memorial Day Weekend for a family reunion. Great town. I met Tiny Tim once in an elevator in the Abraham Lincoln in Reading. If you're still there, have a birch beer they're delicious.
Those pictures are awesome. So are the shirts.
I'm hearing l*ndsl*de too, not to jinx it... I just see a lot of Democrats (like you) doing a lot of hard work in the final hours. Go team!
A couple of things I meant to send ye, Ian, but will share with all.
First, the horoscopes for tomorrow:
John Kerry's
For November 2: First thing this morning, you are made aware of a groundswell of activity that benefits you. This powerful locomotive is unstoppable and likely to outperform everyone’s expectations. Even so, you will experience moments of uncertainty from time to time – but not for long. The best information indicates that your momentum is irreversible. You feel very popular and beloved most of the day. Even another’s petty criticism is too limp to hit a bullseye. Enormous changes that you’ve hoped for – perhaps your own personal miracle – can occur.
http://www.elle.com/default.asp?section_id=24&page=your&sign=sagittarius
GWBush's:For November 2: You comfort others, especially this morning, and take the attitude that, no matter what, things will turn out fine. Your apparent acceptance creates comfort, strength and unity among friends and loved ones. Throughout the day, you can feel the future quickly approaching your front door. You anticipate change, travel or even moving, and feel at peace with the prospect. In fact, you begin to welcome the likelihood of change. Once you’re able to step outside of preconceived notions and expectations, you’re able to see the peace and beauty inherent in a new way of living.
http://www.elle.com/default.asp?section_id=24&page=your&sign=cancer
Second, I'm doing the EP hotline in SF. GIVE OUT THE NUMBER, DUDE! 1-866-OUR-VOTE.Third, this song aptly summarized my feelings. Download it onto the iPod for those down moments:
ftp://ftp.bigego.com/WTFMFWTFAYT.mp3
Peace and happy voting to all. DB
Good luck and do good work. The up-side of such a screwed up system down there is you get so many opportunities to get out to protect it.
BTW, "Living in Dryden" has a listing for election night dinners at church halls, fire stations, etc. Is that seen in Reading as well? Never heard of that tradition.
Get some of the appropriately named Victory Ale for your celebration. It is a Pennsylvania micro and it is amazing. Try the Imperial Stout (kind of like me) if you are at all a coffee man. It is like licking out the basket of grounds...but in a good way.
Alan
Canada
I voted early on October 14th, the first day of early voting in North Carolina, just because I wanted to make sure I got to vote this year and I was afraid the polls would be swamped today. I do have an increasing hope that the polls will be swamped and they will be so because millions of people have shown up to send W back to Crawford.God bless You, Tessa and all other folks working to make sure every vote is fairly counted today.
You go get 'em, you small "d" democratic superheroes you! Crack some intolerant heads! I mean...you know what I mean.
You and Tessa are doing such good work Ian, thanks. The eyes of the rest of the world are on the US today (okay, let's face it, everyday...) and the vast majority of us are hoping for real change down there. It's Americans like you two that give the rest of us hope.
Lisa (formerly from Windsor, Ontario, we met at Zap your Pram)
I haven't been worried since Saturday, when the Redskins lost. Every election year since 1936 (when the team moved from Boston to DC), if the 'Skins lose the weekened before the election, so does the imcumbent!
I wish I shared everyone's optimism! I've been sorta nervous all day. Re: the Redskins streak - I can't help but to think about the Red Sox victory this year. Lots of streaks are getting broken...
*nail biting*
p.s. for the record: I cast my ballot at the fire department in Rolesville, NC, and it was the most efficient and good-natured polling site I've ever walked into. There were easily 150 people in line ahead of us, and we were in and out of there in about 30 minutes!
Tanya,
I took the Redsox streak into consideration too, but that was a team from Boston that WON. I refuse to believe that it was anything but a good omen for our MA senator. I'm also thinking that the Redskins "predicting" the election has something to do with how the country views DC - and therefore, its leadership. Or maybe I'm just pulling at straws.