November 2008: A Morning After

Photo: James Jordan

Around 11:30 the night of November 4, I started to hear horns honking, along with a roar—coming from the direction of the main thoroughfare, a couple blocks away. The roaring got louder, as students who had gathered on campus went into the streets and spontaneously marched through town.

The steady roar of joy and relief was still heard in my neighborhood, when I nodded out at 12:30.

The following morning was unusually sunny and warm—50 degrees or more, at 7:45. Which is when I was rushing to work, and running late, as usual.

Crossing a street, I was headed into the path of two other pedestrians: a black man and his daughter of about eight or nine. I hadn't seen them before on the route, and supposed the father must be walking the daughter to school, after staying up late to watch returns.

As our paths met, the father smiled, and said, "Good morning." I smiled back and said, "Hi." And rushed on—knowing I wanted to stop and say something more adequate. Despite the significance of the day, nothing came to me, in my usual inability to function at that hour.

A little later, I realized I could have said, "It's a beautiful morning, in so many ways..." Despite the missed moment of connection, it was clear how different everything feels. And how possibilities suddenly seem to be opening.

And things feel so different for now—when my clock radio came on that morning, Cokie Roberts was talking sense, to the effect of, "he won, it was big. I didn't understand why he spent time in New York and places he'd win anyway; now I do: it was about turnout, more Democrats, and showing he has the people behind him, and Congress..."

Sense emanating from the pundits can't last. And there's the grim likelihood that a Republican decision was made to not steal this election, in favor of leaving the staggering mess to the Democrats.

But even that can't mar the prospect of possibilities that have been suppressed for eight long years.

Just over a week later, the Yes Men pull off a "New York Times" edition dated July 4, 2009. Front page stories—

IRAQ WAR ENDS
Nation Sets Its Sights On Building Sane Economy