the theee faces of Me

Well, it is over. The pre-election stress. I'm stowing the valerian, the Rescue Remedy drops, the rose petal tea. Pleased with election outcome and trying to ignore racist comments from Fox News that a family member (who I care about and can't divorce because he's a relation) cleaves to: "the minority welfare queens are responsible for President Obama's re-election". There was a lot more in the quote (O'Reilly) but I'm trying not to absorb this negative stuff. Focusing instead on Joseph Campbell's quote: "Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."

Athena, nasty goddess
Still split in body and mind by east coast extreme weather conditions and people I love having a hard time versus our perfect ongoing endless Indian Summer here. By now there should be snow on the mountains in Taos, wintery November cold, and skiers getting excited. Instead, it's shirtsleeves and open windows during the day. Each new day I expect to be the last beautiful day of autumn and then another dawns warmer and prettier. I personally like the freedom from snow and cold, but worry about the lack of moisture. That worry inevitably lurks behind lovely dry weather here. Gotta keep worrying though, because if we stop, things go bad -- yeah, it's the way I grew up, too.

the next day
Spent yesterday at Llano Quemado polling precinct as a Democratic Challenger. No challenges were necessary, it's a small precinct with people who have lived there and known each other through generations. There were no two hour lines. Indeed there were only five or six people waiting to vote at any one time and mostly fewer. The Republican Challenger didn't show up. I observed young people enthusiastically and nervously voting for the first time and others casting votes -- emerging from the flimsy cardboard "booths" after having marked off their paper ballots -- with confidence and pride. Old people with walkers and oxygen tanks, families with kids, folks voting and then coming back with family members and friends who hadn't yet voted. One frail elderly man came in with his daughter. He was wearing an army cap with two medals proudly displayed on it. He was just keeping her company he said. He had voted early. For me, yesterday was a microcosm of what democracy is all about -- the 98% who run the motor of our world. How often do we see that? I am grateful to have been a witness and a minor helper. A friend (whose humor rocks me) came by to vote and although I couldn't speak to him (a rule for challengers and poll watchers), when he left he said loudly, "thanks for protecting our democracy." You're welcome Sean, it's just another ordinary day's work.