Life, Fannishness, and Thespic Infatuation

Today is an historic day. I don't think I can even begin to express myself here.

I have always been proud to be an American. I've not always been proud of our leaders, or certain parts of our history, but America is my history, my heritage, and my home.

I've always been proud of the close ties we hold with the nation from which we broke through violent revolution. That our one-time adversary is now one of our closest allies.

I'm proud of the ideals my country stands for, even if we fall short of those ideals.

And I am very proud today of our continuing history of peaceful and orderly transition of power.

I know a lot of my f-listies dislike President Bush at best. I, however, believe that though many of his policies were questionable, his motivations were for the best for the country. And from the reports I've heard, he is a very pleasant, courteous, and goodnatured man. The course of his presidency changed drastically and irreversibly on September 11, 2001, and he has been successful in protecting us from other such attacks on our shores. And I'm very warmed by the reports of cooperation between the outgoing president and the incoming president.

Today's proceedings were moving, not just for the obvious reasons, but because I'm left feeling optimistic about things I was previously concerned about. Time will tell, and goodness knows there are a lot of things about which I disagree with President Obama. But he is now my president, and today I look forward to his presidency with optimism.

I especially appreciated seeing the ease with which the Bushes and the Obamas seemed to relate to each other. George and Barack were even laughing together as they left the ceremony.

(I was also highly amused by the "rewording" of the oath of office. Yes, these are humans we put in office. :-) )

I wish President and Mrs. Bush and their family the best as they re-enter private life, and I pray for wisdom and protection for President Obama, First Lady Michelle, and their beautiful daughters.

God bless America!

P.S. July? I thought of you when your boy Rahm arrived.

Just walked in the door from voting. Polls opened at 6:00 AM, and Geo and I were in line at, like, 5:55 AM. It looked like the line for a rock concert or a blockbuster movie (well, maybe not quite that bad, but you get the picture). The sun wasn't up yet, and there were no coffee or donuts in sight. But the line moved quickly, and we were checked in and had our voting completed by 6:30 AM.

And so the Grand Experiment continues . . .

Geo commented on the way home how lucky we are to be able to stand in line to vote without having to worry about being shot or attacked or bonked on the head.

God bless America!