What Hope Looks Like

This was the scene at my polling place this morning. I waited on line, happily, for 45 minutes, to vote for Barack Obama. I went to work, left during the day for a doctor's appointment, came back, went to my other job, didn't get home until nine o'clock. As I was walking home from the subway, I heard shouting out the windows. When I got home and turned on the TV, they were saying that Ohio had just gone for Obama. I watched the various pundits for two hours, as more and more states went blue. At 11, all of a sudden, it was over! Jim Lehrer was still talking and that number went from 220 to 275--California had gone for Obama. Almost involuntarily, I was drawn to my window looking out over the street. A car going by honked joyfully. I yelled out the window and waved to some people standing in a clump outside on the other side of the street. Then I was just too excited to stay in my apartment so I threw some clothes on over my sweatpants and went out, to be outside and feel it, feel hope and gratitude and relief. I talked to a man standing on my side of the street, in that way that strangers do when history is happening. Then he went back inside, and I did, too. I cried all though McCain's concession speech, not because I was sad for him but because I couldn't believe it was true, we'd done it, we'd elected this smart, compassionate, forward-thinking man and he's African-American, this country has an African-American president, who would have ever thought that could happen?

Now Obama's speech is over and I've shut off the TV. There have been a few more cars going by, honking, and I hear sounds of revelry, people at parties who have also shut off the TV and are now just celebrating, drinking, it sounds like, and yelling. As the guy I was talking to outside said, it's kind of like New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve or no, since I was exhausted four hours ago, when I got home from my two jobs, and since I have to do the whole thing over again tomorrow, I'm heading off to bed, to celebrate in my dreams.

To everyone who voted today, nice work. Even if you voted for the other guy.