Sure, there’s been quite a gap since I’ve posted a dispatch. While I can’t say that I’ve been totally busy, the world has kept me on edge with the shocking and fantastic. This being the last week of another year of life, it seemed a requisite for safe passage to acknowledge the WOW of 2008 (…or whatever that year translates for my age).
Obama! This time last year he was a blip on the radar – a hopeful fresh-face, one candidate in a pack of Democrats, the good-looking guy from the 2004 Convention. The “Yes We Can” slogan along with his dynamic speeches and amazing grassroots campaigns in EVERY state changed EVERYTHING!!! The gaping mouths expressing that they would “never in my lifetime” imagine seeing a Black president came in all ethnicities and hues. It is and was a surprise, a refreshing and pride-worthy surprise. I pray to keep the elation of election night with me all my days. It wasn’t just the dancing and laughing in the streets of Brooklyn that were unbelievable when the election was called at 11:00PM election night, but seeing communities around the world also responding enthusiastically offered a needed validation of connection to the global community. “We,” my fellow countrymen did the right thing that day. For this, I am thankful.
Acknowledging my fear during his campaign is worth admitting. His hope and confidence is uplifting. I celebrate his passion, confidence and determination. Our future success is contingent on focusing on what can happen and how we can make a difference, not on what we fear. The entire Obama family are pioneers and require the prayers of millions on this journey.
In spite of the whirlwind campaign, the prize is a very battered America in its worst economic state in at least 25 years (perhaps in 75 years, depending on whether you believe we’re closer to a depression than a recession). The new administration is surely up-to-the-gills with repairs (economy, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, China, Russia, energy, health care, education, etc.), I’m super content that I did not fry myself by going greedy with the “free money.” The choice to continue to rent rather than buy property a few years back is now more comforting than ever. Perhaps the leap to ownership would see less frightening if I’d been living in suburban America, far from the NY metro area. I say this thinking about the reduced expense of a mortgage, the increased time at home with a shorter commute, more than likely greater comforts (yard, garage, suburban sq footage, etc.). Whatever my hesitations were, I must admit that I’m grateful for that sense of doubt.
Perhaps the most dramatic transition of the year has been the detachment from the creative elements of my life. This marks the second year that I’ve worked for a marketing firm in Long Island, where I recently celebrated a very welcome promotion. The commute is normally an hour-and-a-half one way. This killer is the return home. It kills any post work gym activity without infringing on dinner. Any thoughts of the film series type projects of days gone-by.
An odder dissonance: tough to even view films at home. Perhaps I’m becoming more savvy I how I consume media. Those who know me know I’ve given up a home television set for three years. Methinks (partially) that my desire to watch films on my laptop are not exciting me as much as a large screen would yield. However, there’s something about not having to be locked into staring at another monitor. I’m staring at a box all day. Committing to a film or show for greater than twenty minutes seems a major commitment, even when I’m visiting a friend with a set. The art of listening frees up the eyes – perhaps it also reduces your attention span for programming that drags.
Hmmm, I believe my attention span has had plenty of this writing exercise. I’d like to close with a few other items that made my year: my mother’s recovery from a health scare (Thank you, Lord!!!), the continue growth and development of my niece, releasing the toxic relationships of the past and finding delightful and engaging companions. What a beautiful year, it was.
