22 71% 26% 3mph N bar29.99 falls windchill19 Imbolc
Waning Crescent of the Winter Moon
A late night. Every time I stay up late watching election returns, as I have tonight, I recall the Stevenson/Eisenhower race. Dad and I sat up until 3 in the morning watching election returns. It was a magical time for me. I got to stay up late; Dad stayed up with me. We shared an interest in the political realm, even though I was only 5 years old. You may think that’s odd, but at the age of 6 I proved the point.
Mr. Gross had picked me up at church to drive me to a meeting with some friends. As we drove out in the country, he asked me, “Charlie, are you a Democrat or a Republican?” I said, “Democrat.” He said, “Well, I don’t allow Democrats to ride in my car.”
“Stop the car, Mr. Gross,” I said, “I’ll get out and walk.”
We had one of the first televisions in our little Indiana town because Bob Feemster, a Wall Street Journal executive who own the Times-Tribune, the paper my Dad edited, thought the newspaper editor needed to keep up with the new technology.
Most of the time I found the Cisco Kid, Ramar of the Jungle, Captain Midnight and Sargent Preston of the Yukon much more to my taste, but around elections, I watched right along with Dad. Very soon after that I became a poll watcher, which meant I stationed myself at one of Alexandria’s precincts and when the vote count finished I called in the results to the paper.
Tonight I can’t tell what the numbers mean quite yet, though I did hear an amazing number if it’s true. Hillary Clinton wins voters making 50,000 and below, while Obama wins with voters making more than 50,000. If these are accurate numbers, it’s an interesting story and one to ponder.
This is the best election I can remember, ever. Issues. Candidates. Momentous decisions. Perhaps a turning point in American history. I hope.
