Is It Safe To Come Out Yet?

 Out of hiding, that is.

Since this is written the day before, i stand here not yet knowing the outcome of the election, and no, i am not going to stay up late to see who won.  Thus by morning i will be asking the question in the title.

Voting was as usual, with a huge line right at opening time, and after that, you could walk in and wait about 3-5 minutes at most.  By the time people start leaving work it gets very crowded again.  That's why i wait until i see the initial line of cars diminish, then walk across the street and talk to whatever neighbors happen to be in line, and i always see a few.

Sweetie came by during an off time when he was running errands for the building, and Bigger Girl went right after her classes, and neither of them had a wait, either, just as i expected.

Bigger Girl's take on the whole process is that "Picking a president it about like deciding whether to eat a clean cardboard box or eat clean, dry cat litter.  One can argue that both have some nutritional merit -- fiber in the cardboard, minerals in the litter -- but neither would make for a pleasant eating experience and both would leave a bad taste in your mouth."

No wonder her history professor says he doesn't know what to do with her.

A few weeks ago, someone told me about a political cartoon which was quoting recent polls about various things, saying the number of Americans who want this or that is such-and-such percent, then ended with "Number of Americans who want it all to be over: 100%".  Isn't that the truth.

And now that it is, the thing to remember is that the sun will still rise or set, the clocks will still tick, there will still be business opportunities, there will still be work to do, there will be people who get out there and make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen.

In the end, our lives are what we make them, whoever the president is or isn't.

Best of all, today, no more turning the volume down during political commercials.



Today is:

Commemoration Day -- Tunisia

Day of Accord and Reconciliation -- Russia (formerly Great October Socialist Revolution Day, with the date determined by the Gregorian Calendar)

Dunce Day -- from the word Dunse, a name for the followers of the philosophy of John Duns Scotus

Feast of Blessed John Duns Scotus (the Subtle Doctor, known for merging the views from many philosophies, his name is the origin of the word Dunce)

Feast of Stolen Fire -- find it listed on several sites, but none have any background; maybe celebrate that Prometheus stole fire for us?

Hawaiki Nui Va'a Race -- French Polynesia (spectacular three-day open water outrigger canoe race from Huahine to Raiatea to Tahaa to Bora Bora)

International Tongue Twister Day -- internet generated

National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day

National Notary Public Day -- US

National Revolution and Solidarity Day -- Bangladesh

October Revolution Day -- Belarus; Kyrgyzstan; Transdniestria

Stay Away from Anyone named Honest John Day -- internet generated; no comment

St. Florentius' Day (Patron against gall stones, ruptures)

St. Willibrord's Day (Patron of epileptics; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Utrecht, Netherlands; against convulsions, epilepsy)

Wish Granting Championships -- Fairy Calendar (Fairies)



Birthdays Today:

Keith Lockhart, 1959
Joni Mitchell, 1943
Joan Sutherland, 1926
Al Hirt, 1922
Billy Graham, 1918
Albert Camus, 1913
Dean Jagger, 1903
Leon Trotsky, 1879
Madame Curie, 1867
Captain James Cook, 1728


Today in History:

The oldest meteorite with a known date of impact, the Ensisheim Meteorite, strikes around noon in a wheat field near the village of Ensisheim, Alsace, France, 1492
Pierre Gassendi observes the transit of Mercury as predicted by Kepler, 1631
Anne Htchinson is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a heretic, 1637
The first edition of the "London Gazette", the oldest surviving journal, is published, 1665
Lewis and Clark first sight the Pacific Ocean, 1805
The first Thomas Nast cartoon depicting the Republican Party Elephant is published, 1874
Edward Bouchet becomes the first black to receive a PhD from a US college (Yale), 1876
Women in the U.S. state of Colorado are granted the right to vote, 1893
The first air freight shipment is undertaken by the Wright brothers and department store owner Max Moorehouse (from Dayton, Ohio to Columbus, Ohio), 1910
Mao Tse Tung proclaims the "Chinese People's Republic", 1931
Fiorello H. La Guardia is elected the 99th mayor of New York City, 1933
Carl B. Stokes is elected as Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American mayor of a major American city, 1967
Douglas Wilder wins the governor's seat in Virginia, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States, 1989
Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland, 1990
NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor, 1996