Is This a Great Country...or What?

Another election.

Another bloodless coup.

Message Sent. With an acknowledgement of receipt.

Bush holds a press conference--using his hectoring voice that ends sentences on an emphatic "up" inflection--complete with "botched" joke about drapes for Nancy Pelosi (a little condescending there, Dubble-Yah?). I would say that he learned his lesson that you can't fool all the people all the time (no matter how long it takes them to take off their rose-colored glasses), but, given his message to "our enemies" not to interpret the vote as "weakness," I don't think he has. The man wears arrogance like Reagan wore teflon, and nothing can penetrate it. And perhaps he should be told that rather than "weakness," it's a show of the American people's strength and resolve. And a demonstration to the people of Iraq just how democracy works, when it works. Sic Semper Tyrannis, you guys. Don't waste a bullet when you've got a ballot.

At least Rumsfeld is out. But another CEO has been nominated. Meet the new boss...

One needs to remember at times that America is The Great Experiment. And it can still fail.
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Voting in Island County was a joy, despite being allowed only a provisional ballot. My polling place in the small passive/aggressive community of Mossback was the "community hall" -- actually a ranch-house-sized lodge--on Firehouse Road, which would be quaint if there was an actual firehouse there. I'd only registered a few weeks ago and though that was enough time to mail me a voter I.D. card, it wasn't long enough to get the elephantine machinery of the elections division to put my name in black and white ink in the ledger.
So, I got a provisional ballot. The old ladies--it's always old ladies--gingerly talked me through the process ("Your vote WILL be counted...but with the absentee's")--making sure to smooth any ruffled feathers. I was fine with it, but the seniors behind me in line got suspicious. "How come he only gets a PROVISIONAL ballot?!" the old guy (probably ten years older than me *sigh*) barked in a prickly tone. "I only moved here a few months ago..." I reassured. "This is fine." But it made me glad that they were informed enough, and suspicious enough of polling-place anomalies (and damned vocal enough) to raise a slight stink. Bless 'em.
I want to volunteer next voting day. I did it in college. I should do it again.
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Folks are going places. Katheryn's in Canada seeing old friends...the pets and me get together at night and forage and huddle for warmth, though they're enjoying the nightly fires in the wood-stove, huddling around me while I make "fire."

FarmerScott's in New Zealand. He e-mailed me (through this blog, in fact, and a hurriedly acquired new e-mail account) to tell me about the trip, and had me call his wife to let her know everything was good. And that he wished she was there. Awww. He also managed to clock more time on "An Unpublished Life etc." than even I did last week. And that takes some doing.

And I thought I had disposable time!
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I don't really. I've been checking out want ads, and pursuing this and that, and putting up blinds, and moving BIG ROUNDS OF WOOD on the ground. Why this strange activity? Wellll, we cut the big tree down in our yard last week (well, actually we hired a crew to come out and do it) and before anybody gets all "Rainbow Warrior" on me, this tree was ten feet from our house, infested with flying termites (our "wooden house," I should add) and leaning precipitously down the embankment we call our yard. It was getting ready to split during the next big storm (which was Monday *whew*) with a landing place of "Who-Knew-Where"--we just knew we didn't want it on our heads...and the street far below, it was that big.
So we had it cut down (before and after pictures to come), which brings a lot more light into the house, which is good, and exposes the house (and thereby, us) far more to the neighbors, which is less than desirable, and so, the blinds of mention and the putting-up-of. Sad to see the tree go (it hasn't, actually, it's lying in VERY HEAVY pieces all over the yard), but with some further landscaping and a couple loads of gravel, it'll make the top of the property much more useful, and a good staging area for anything we plan in the future. Which is good. And the birds were very vocal in thanking us for the tasty termites. And I managed to move the "wood-that-had-to-be-moved" off to the side to allow the landscaping to be done without injuring myself. Which is best.
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I went to see Clay Jenkinson (and so can you by clicking here) last night. He was portraying John Wesley Powell at Foster High School in Tukwila for their local Rotary. I drove all the way from the Island to Tukwila to see this, then drove back...each trip less than 40 minutes from ferry to auditorium and back again. He was on stage from 7:00pm until 9:19pm, in an ebullient mood, and clearly loves coming to the PNW. Tonight, he's in Kirkland as Thomas Jefferson. Sorry. Sold out. Best line last night: "When you play a guy with one arm you have to make a decision: do I put the arm inside your shirt in the front or behind your back for potentially two hours? Suffice it to say, I haven't had my hand down my pants this much since High School." Then there was: "I do travel/lecture groups. This year, it was 'Jefferson's Virginia,' and 'Jefferson's Paris,' and 'Jefferson's Greece' (even though he never went to Greece). (laughter) Hmmm. I dunno. 'Jefferson's Cabo?'"
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Honest Abe e-mailed. He's already picked up tickets for "Casino Royale" at the Cinerama for "the Double-O's," which has been the small group of us who go to see the opening of every Bond movie since...what, "For Your Eyes Only," which would be 1981. Eee-yikes! This year, it's H.A., Jean, and me. Dan of "The Voice of Burnished Oak" is still waking folks up on Martha's Vineyard, so will not be in attendance yet again. "Out, in the field," as we say.

Other than that, life has been a constant marvel of consistency: commuting and testing and commuting and testing and the occasional free-lance gig. And a movie or two.
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Coming up: reviews of a movie or two.