Life of Wry

We’re still in the throes of ballot counting. We aren’t, however, uncertain about the outcome. Which, I just have to say, is a great place to be.

Take your time Secretaries of State; accuracy is more important than speed.

There is still a measure of disquiet (more than little) .. just because we know that Trump isn’t going to go out gracefully. We know that we’re in for a couple of months of classless, boorish, norm-busting behavior (the usual). Again, his pathologies are going to be at work here. Unfortunate for all of us. Feels a bit edgy. No idea what Mr. Flamethrower’s working up. Also feels dangerous.

Jake Tapper called him a fish flopping around wildly on the shore, running out of oxygen. Anderson Cooper’s characterization was that of a turtle on its back, unable to right itself. Both images are deliciously apt. He’s just out of control and desperate, running out of time and solutions. Nobody coming to his aid (except the usual clown car of surrogates and family members).

And oh, Mark Meadows (chief of staff) has covid. Oops.

But what I realized today is that the context for all his WTF-ery has changed. Now it’s the flailing of a sore loser and not someone we have to take seriously just because, you know, he’s the president (not that I ever did). Now … just a loser. To twist one of his more juvenile schoolyard taunts and apply it here: “Joe Biden’s the president and you’re not.”

So now… with each passing day (even though the numbers are not final and Joe has yet to be officially declared), as all of this is gloriously sinking in, the lightness in my step is palpable! I spontaneously broke into short little jogs while walking downtown this afternoon. Listening to more music and fewer wonky political podcasts (although, those will be fun at this particular moment, too).

This little nugget of post-election time is a welcome and precious bit of light before we go into the season of darkness — both trump’s lame duck period, which I expect will be unsettlingly dark, and, literally, winter. Looking forward to coming out on the other side. And, by Jan 20’s inauguration, we’ll be past the worst of his shenanigans and past the winter weather and looking ahead to life under a new administration.

So, like I said, today felt bouncy and light. I called it a freedom walk. I decide to buy some new shoes and take them for a walk. Got talked into these by the guys at Fleet Feet (look at those square toes!):

And look at all this fall prettiness:

This is a thing:

They are all over downtown. It’s a response, of course, to trump’s wailing about fraud and his calls to stop the counting (in states where he’s winning).

We, in the SD/IY community are putting them up around town. Those who aren’t doing that, are at least putting them up around our own homes!