Wednesday, November 05, 2008

THE MORNING AFTER

Here it is, Wednesday morning, I still don't entirely believe what happened last night but I'm so glad it did.

After work I headed home, tried to eat and completely failed. I then headed over to a friend’s house to watch the returns. By the time she put snacks out things were starting to look fairly secure so I was able to get something to eat. I talked to my cousin who I haven’t spoken to in quite a while. He was pretty amazed that I wasn’t down at Grant Park. I was a little amazed myself but I had plenty of reasons why I wasn’t there.

At my friend's apartment, we sat and talked and watched and before we even knew what was happening the election was called. I knew it I left then I could make it home in time to see the speech with Tony, who was getting off work at 10:30. As I walked got to the bus stop a young brother (probably too young to vote) was standing there holding the front page of the Red Eye paper that said Election Day and grinning as big as he possibly could. He turned to me and asked how my night was going. I replied that it was absolutely amazing and I was in disbelief. He smiled at me with this serene, otherworldly look and said, "It couldn't be more beautiful. What a great night". There was hope in his face and I knew it was no dream. This was our new reality.

Like Obama said, he has a hard road to walk. He is inheriting one of the biggest clusterfucks in recent American history. He pulled no punches. He admitted it was a long and hard road. He wasn’t claiming that he could change the world in the blink of an eye. That would be a lie. He said that the American people can’t let go of the passion that got him elected in the coming years. That we have to stay vigilant and continue to fight for what we believe in. He couldn’t be more right. It’s going to be touch, but we are all in it together.

7 comments:

dmarks said...

I bet it was a lonely vigil at Lewis-News 2008 Campaign Headquarters. But there's always 2012.

LISA VAZQUEZ said...

Hi there...

I have to speak on this history milestone!!

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA
- Toot's grandson
- Michelle's hubby
- Sasha and Malia's daddy
- OUR PRESIDENT, the gap man

Yesss...in our lifetime.

Katrina said...

It definitely was an historical night. I'm proud to have been a part of it.

Anonymous said...

Oh, it will be wickedly hard work. But I'm just grateful that now we have a fighting chance.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, Barack Obama! I never would have expected this in my lifetime. So wonderful. So many happy people today. It feels very peaceful, and very deep.

I went out and knocked on doors yesterday until long after my feet hurt, to help get out the vote. Not sure how much I helped, but it sure felt good to try. I did get to explain to a few folks how they could register at the polls on election day (which Minnesotans have been able to do for decades). The election day effort was much better organized than I have ever seen it before.

40 and a half years since Dr. King was taken from us. I heard a 95-year old man say on the radio today that Obama's election is the most important, best historical event in American history since Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

We will have a President who "gets it." Yes, there's hard work ahead. But you are absolutely right, Natalie, we're all in this together. And to quote a famous President-elect, "Yes we can."

Mrs. Loquacious said...

I have never been so happy for the U.S. and for its citizens. Obama, to me, represents integrity and intelligence - both lacking in the current administration. I am excited to witness the transformation and change that he promised, come to fruition in the U.S.

On an aside, I got a snide remark from one of my Republican friends today when I expressed my support for Obama. Her comment? "Do you know what the Democrats believe? Or do you get all your info from the media?" Sad, sad.

Anonymous said...

No one can stop Destiny...In God's Greater Plan, the Black Community has a new and important responsibility to unite the Country together. Reconciliation and Rebuilding the Country, the victory should not tear People apart but bring all together.