oh my gosh the colors are amazing--part two

The entry date on this says Nov 6th, which is when I downloaded the photos, but here it is Nov 12th and alas I am still trying to put my thoughts in order, get them on the page, and click "publish now". Courtney took these photos around the campus and of the courthouse the first few days of the month. The colors were, as you can see, so dazzling that it was hard for him to drive from Point A to Point B without pulling over to photograph leaves turning colors, leaves on the sidewalk, leaves making a carpet over the grass. And aren't we glad he did, because days later it all looked different again. Still beautiful, but less colorful and more winterlike.



And speaking of changing colors, how about those red states turning blue?! I can only say that for the first time in six years I don't feel like an alien in my own country. I'm rather blissed out and extremely energized. As Garrison Keillor of the Prairie Home Companion said "There's a hint of possibility in the air." For those of us who stood in our stoic little vigils years ago with sign saying "NO WAR ON IRAQ", verbally abused by SUV drivers and physically threatened at times, it is no small thrill to read that Keith Ellison, the first Muslim member of Congress and the first non-white representative to be sent from Minnesota to Washington, D.C., said "I think the message is clear, that the American people want peace to be the guiding principle of this nation. They want America to be a source of peace in the world, not warfare and militarism. And I think that that's unmistakable in this election."




And it's no small thrill to hear that James Baker said Bush needs to "swallow his axis of evil rhetoric" and see the merit of "talking to your enemies." And I have to admit my glee when reading that, in an extraordinary joint statement, more than 200 Socialist members of the European Parliament hailed the American election results as "the beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world."



I love that between the three states of Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Illinois, 162 "Bring the Troops Home Now" ballot initiatives passed. Every single one of them won! In both Chicago and suburban Cook County, Illinois, 80% voted yes on referendums saying "Shall the U.S. government immediately begin the orderly and rapid withdrawal of all its military personnel from Iraq, beginning with the National Guard and Reserves?" And I love that grafetti was reportedly spotted in Richmond, Virginia saying: Atone. Impeach. Now.



Last night Courtney and I stopped at his bank after hours for him to use the ATM. A middle-aged man before him at the machine finished and got in his car, where is mother and daughter waited for him, and backed out of his parking space, which was next to ours. Then I noticed he was back and standing by his car obviously waiting for Courtney to finish his transaction. When Courtney turned around the man said, in a very heartfelt voice, "Thank you for having those bumperstickers."



I don't think it's my imagination, but suddenly it feels like there's more space for public discourse, like a huge number of us who have been holding our breath gave a collective sigh. And so I'll close with a quote from Socrates: "We are discussing no small matter, but how we ought to live."

May we live long and fully and honestly and passionately.

Til next time,

Valori