. . .O lost, and by the wind grieved, ghost, come back again.— Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward Angel.
Sarah Palin spoke last night. “She creates instant excitement because nobody knows her.”—Joshua Hader, South Dakota. “Hilary is been-there, done-that. Palin is a bright, honest woman who will be going places.”—Vergene Donovan, Iowa.
To be honest, I don’t know who Sarah Palin is. Maybe she’d make a great president. Maybe she shouldn’t even come close to that job. But by being a heart-beat away from the presidency, if John McCain is elected or “selected”, I’d like to really know if she’s up to the job. Because, truth to tell, John McCain is that age where anything can happen.
Hell, I’m 62, and I’m at that age where anything can happen, instantly. Of course, you could say that about anyone, at any age, it’s just that the odds get shorter as the years get longer. Strangely enough, as the years add on, they feel as if they’re getting shorter all the time.
I believe our time sense changes dramatically as we age. Remember, when you were in grade school and were let out for summer vacation? The summer stretched ahead of you like eternity, the going back to school was just soooo far away. And then, one day, you were getting your books ready.
Now, at 62, when summer begins, I celebrate July 4th, wake up the next morning and it is Labor Day. Did you ever wonder why elderly people drive so slowly? Could it be that every other car and truck is whizzing by so fast that it is just overwhelming.
We get older, our time sense just changes. The way we perceive it is altered; each year time (a constant) shifts gear and picks up speed. As a child, one wakes up in the morning and the day stretches out like a lazy dog. So much can happen; the possibilities are endless; night is on its way but why think about it? The minute hand of the clock creeps slowly; the day is long and filled with promise(or horror depending on what kind of childhood you have) and there is so much to be done.
At 62, I wake up, get ready for daytime activities as the minute hand speeds so quickly I can’t see it; the hours fly by like minutes. I make a list of things to do and by the time I finish the list, the day can be half over. The seasons are like days, the years whip by as I hurtle towards my death. I’m happily married but I try to work the same shifts as my wife; I’m too old for a drive-by marriage.
I watched my father and mother. They suffered from a delusion, they thought they had forever together and then WHAM — and my mom was gone, my father crying as he lay on her empty body. Short, so short life is, but by the time we know it we are staring at wrinkles and grey hair in the mirror, wondering how that happened.
Teen-agers take note. Today you are dancing with amphetamine energy, tomorrow you are leaning on a cane — if you are lucky.
Death comes so quickly, like a lover that just can’t wait to get its arms around you.
And what does this have to do with John McCain’s choice, Sarah Palin? The fact is that Sarah Palin may be closer to the presidency than we ever dreamed of. John McCain is older than I and the clock is ticking.
I don’t care what Sarah said about Barack Obama. That’s her job. She’s being paid(in a sense) to paint a picture of Obama that is not flattering.
But Sarah Palin is no Lyndon Johnson. I guess we have that to thank for — or do we? I’m in the middle of watching “Chicago 10″, a new DVD that just came out. It is about the 1968 Democratic Convention and it should be required viewing for all students in Junior High School. It shows a part of history that must be remembered.
Today, or was it yesterday, free-lance journalist Emma Goldman was arrested just for speaking out near the republican convention. “Cuffed and Stuffed” as they say in criminal jargon. Who would have thought that so much damage could be done in just 8 years?
If the Yippee’s(hippies) could see us now, they would wonder why good Americans aren’t filling the streets in protest. George Orwell is crying in his grave. 1984 is a dream come true. “Who’s Watching The Watchmen?”
Tonight, as 911 draws near, John McCain will speak. Drawing demon’s breath, he will breathe fog into the eyes of the American people who don’t want the future to realize itself.
This is not a race to see which party will win the presidency. It is a fight for the survival of the human species(and all the other species except the cockroachs who are rooting for John McCain).
Make some phone calls. Put an Obama sign on your lawn before you lose your property. Take action, wherever you are.
Barack Obama is the man who can change the future of the U.S.A. He is the leader who can take us into the 21st century. If John McCain wins, to paraphrase Albert Einstein, “World War III will become real, and World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
911 is just around the corner. Pay attention or pay the price.