Election Day

All my friends are really excited right now. Their Facebook statuses and G-chat message exclamation marks express an almost euphoric excitement about the probable Obama victory.

If I'd slept more than a few hours in a row the last few nights I might be sharing in part of that. But this election has been so tense and my eyes are about to burn up from all the hours spent poring over online predictions and perspectives and ridiculous campaign minutia. All signs point to an Obama presidency, but at a moment when I should be feeling energized, I feel prematurely worn out by all the problems our country will be slogging through for the next who knows how long.

I did vote today, and that at least was an energizing experience. My last name sent me to the quickest line, and after only a few minutes I was back outside sipping coffee and watching other voters file in -- in pairs, on their own or in wheel chairs.

It was nice to see so many people from my building and my neighborhood, including a few dudes I never would have expected to see at the voting booth. The high percentage of young people in line was really encouraging to me, and I was glad to see so many people actually follow through on their enthusiasm. Not that it's anything heroic to make it out to the polls, but considering that four of the closest voting stations to me all had the wrong voter registration books this morning, causing long lines and several hour waits while they sorted it out, it's good that people were a bit patient with the mix-up. Not that bureaucratic incompetence is anything alien to residents of Kansas City, Missouri.

I'll probably relax and sip some brew tonight while watching the results come in, but part of me just wants to hole up on the disc golf course with a tent, a few frisbees and a bb-gun and avoid the inevitable deluge of excitement, analysis and hand-wringing that's sure to follow no matter what the result. Unfortunately I don't really have time to do that, and besides, that would be a little dramatic, even for me.

After a nap I'll probably get at least a little bit caught up in the excitement of watching tonight's returns. But as quite a few Obama supporters have pointed out, the election is just the beginning, and if any kind of real change is going to have a prayer of taking place it will require a lot of effort and involvement from all of us. If I take a look at my actual contributions to society so far, they're pretty scarce. That's something I plan to change, no matter what happens tonight.

Here's to hoping all the hope helps us help ourselves and our fellow countryfolk. I've got a good feeling about things, even if I'm too tired right now to show it.

cheers.

LDHW