Waking Up

This was one of those days when I woke up to a sunny blue sky. Thank you, global warming! You have turned my foggy Richmond district into a different neighborhood altogether. It used to be that ten days a year I got to see the blue sky. Now I get grouchy if it's overcast for more than a day or two....

I feel different. It's because of Obama. He's young, he's hip, he has a Blueberry (or is it a Blackberry?) and he listens to rap, I hear.... For so long now I haven't felt America-happy. I've felt America-ashamed. Suddenly I feel I'm back in the Kennedy era....

We're hero-hungry.

I was 14 when Kennedy was elected to office. It was the first time in my life that I felt "politically involved." That Kennedy family was athletic. They had us walking on a daily basis, doing sit-ups and push-ups. He instilled the idea of service -- what can we do for each other, what can we do for our country.... The country grew small and we all held hands.

It was a feeling. A lot of people had it. A lot of people have it now....