I woke up determined to be calm today. Finally, the day we have been awaiting for so long, but the day that fills us with so much anxiety as well. Election Day 2020.
Having resolved to follow a regimen of not listening to any news whatsoever, no election coverage, I instead went ahead and mowed the lawn. It was quiet, although of course my peace had to be disturbed by the report given to me by my mom that she had been told by a neighbor that motorcyclists had passed by our street waving huge Trump flags. I didn't hear them, and I didn't need to hear about this act of intimidation, because if they passed by this area, a Mexican immigrant neighborhood which does not support Trump, then it could only have been an act of intimidation. I saw the neighbor walking on the sidewalk later on as I was sweeping the grass on the sidewalk and she told me she had hand-delivered her ballot to the polling station at the public library. She said it was calm.
I had been planning on walking by that area. I had already mailed in my vote several weeks ago, but I wanted to see if there was a big turnout and if it was calm. I decided I didn't need to see this. I took my usual route on Cota street, and it was very quiet today. I didn't even see anyone exercising as I had in the past. It was very calm, and I spent my walk talking into my cellphone, videotaping my description of how I felt today.
The feeling I have is that things will be positive. We, I, so many have been dreading disturbances. We have a very unstable person in the White House who might incite rebellion, and we have to be calm. I have no doubt we will see men with rifles and MAGA hats somewhere down the line. I cannot believe that their führer will win, though. I don't feel it. We have to be saner than that, we cannot continue down this line, although conservative white men have chosen their leader and follow him with a blind passion.
I am not following any of the coverage. I refuse to do so. I don't want to subject myself to that agony. I have to believe that, when I go to bed today, sometime at 9 p.m., with ear cushions to block out sound, I will be able to sleep well and wake up tomorrow to a much brighter day. Tomorrow I will log into the web sites and read the news, or else, listen to it. I know it will be better tomorrow, but I don't have to endure this agony now.
Opening up my school email I found a message about "Election Stress Relief". It is a PDF that was created by a university back east but modified for the needs of our students here. I read part of it, and I shared it with my students. One of the recommendations is to keep busy. I was busy all day today, and I scanned some photos. This photo is of a trip I took to San Diego. I was looking for the waterfront to photograph the Star of India sailboat, but ended up at the Cabrillo monument. It was crowded, there was a big line of cars to go in and they were only letting in small groups at a time, so I turned around and headed to this nearby cemetery. I was using my Fuji GW690ii camera. It might be heavier than, as they say, "heck", but is has become my favorite camera. It is easy to load, it has an awesome lens, and it gives me 8 exposures at a time, with 6x9 negatives. These are big negatives. They are, of course, not in the league of an 8x10 camera, and I am still upset about breaking my camera on Sunday, but these negatives are wonderful.
So, no news yet. All quiet on the western front. Trying to maintain my calm. I do not want to watch any election coverage, I just want it to be over. And I want our country to return to normal. It is 7:44 p.m. right now, and soon, I imagine, if they have not all been closed yet, polls will be closed on the west coast. Not that it matters to me, I already said I mailed in my ballot a few weeks ago, but it will signal an end to voting.
And a return to sanity.
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