It'll be a great story for the kids some day; "I was in Krgyzstan the day President Obama was elected, waiting for the plane that took me to Afghanistan."
A bunch of airmen and I got up early this morning (we're 11 hours ahead of Eastern time) to watch the results come in. I'm lucky to have found the biggest pocket of Democrats and moderate Republicans in the whole US military. I think there's almost 7 of us.
We ate our breakfast as they called Pennsylvania for Obama. We watched nervously as Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida remained too close to call. Watching the big screen in the rec room, most of us cheered as they called Ohio blue. I got hopeful, almost cocky. But still, at 10am sharp, local time, I nearly choked on my coffee when the words flashed on screen- President Elect, Barack Obama. One guy across the room stood up and cheered. Most of the room just grumbled "there goes the country," or something similarly offensive. I just sat there and fought back the lump of pride welling up in my chest. I'll deal with the liberal bashers and Obama haters later. For now, I'll just bask in the hope.
1 comment:
Brother man... Mom and I sat glued to the TV in our Tucson hotel room watching the coverage. It took some effort, but we managed to squeeze in a trip for dinner and free coffee at Starbucks to celebrate what we thought would become an Obama victory. During the car ride (and while listening to NPR's coverage) Mom asked questions about the Electoral College and its correct pronunciation, "No lo pronuncian como en el CD de ciudanania." She wondered what the Hispanic turnout would be, and we discussed the conversation we had with Tia Severa and Tio Julio in Cananea, MX one night before (Tia Severa, no surprise, is very into this and name-drops like you wouldn't believe). So here we were in Tucson on election day, and Mom was as much into the process as any other die-hard Obama supporter.
We got back to our room and flipped channels between Univision & CNN. She wondered what the news anchors were saying in Spanish. Thankfully, across the TV networks the message was the same, and we were damned happy about it. I can't remember feeling so much emotion over an election. And Mom was too. Jose all the while, was sending me Blackberry instant messages reviewing the coverage play-by-play. The three of us... political commentators.
There's an American story for you... two newly naturalized US Citizens, closely watching the election after participating in the US democratic process for the first time in their lives. No worries about long lines for us - we voted early. The three of us cheered (Jose via messenger) when the words came up on CNN's ticker. "President Elect Obama." Awesome projection. "President Obama," even better. After watching his speech, and wondering how much he was mourning the loss of his Grandmother, my Mom and I agreed that the US should be poised to regain its standing in the International spotlight.
Today is a good day.
Take care, and much love.
-Favian
P.S. Tia Severa said she'll give him a "bendicion" for his safety, the safety of his wife, and the safety of his "criaturas".
Post a Comment