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Friday, October 31, 2008

Awww. Do we HAAAAAVE to? (And a great contest idea!)

Awwww. Do we HAAAAAVE to? Do we HAAAAAVE to have another election day? I know, I know. It's what we do. We are a democracy. This is the United States of America and I am, indeed, a proud American.

But election days are just so .... so .... brutal.

No, it's not the politicians. Their brutality has finally ended. We've watched them and listened to them and most of us have made our decisions. They aren't the problem.

It's the press.

My stomach balls up into a knot just thinking about it. Don't misunderstand. I care who wins. I care very much. I just don't want to go through the endless telling and retelling of who is going to win this state and that state and by how much ... when people are still voting. A newspaper in New Mexico has already proclaimed a winner. And it's not even Tuesday yet! I don't know about you but that ticks me off just a little bit.

Nothing I can do about it though. And besides, I happen to believe that God is in charge of human history. The bible teaches that God places people in positions of authority. Look it up. It's there. So why should I worry? Why should I subject myself to listening to eeennndddllleeesss predictions and prognostications if my God is the one that's keeping the world spinning anyway?

He is. And I shouldn't.

So here are my thoughts on how to spend Tuesday evening AFTER I have voted. Remember, these are just my thoughts. Feel free to do it your way!

- A movie? With popcorn? With extra butter? (Just in case I am wrong and the world IS ending on the day after election day I might as well enjoy my last bowl of "da corn.")

- Dance with my wife? In the quiet of our own apartment? (If I buy her some steel toed shoes she should be safe.)

- Go outside and sit on the lake? Well, not ON the lake. BY the lake. I can stare across. A guy in the Coast Guard told me this week that it's only 19 miles from my apartment to Canadian waters. (If the election goes REALLY badly I can ... nah...)

- Watch the "Hallmark" channel. (Not in this lifetime. Ha! I made a joke! That's a channel I'm not going to watch either!)

- Drive to Ashtabula. I don't know why. I guess just to see if it's really there.

- Go and buy that 42 inch flat screen. (You know. The one that ends in my divorce ...)

There has to be more ideas. Feel free to leave your plans as comments. I have a free evening next Tuesday night. OH! Here's a thought! Whoever leaves the comment with the idea that I really do ... will win a remarkable prize! It will come in the mail! Seriously! It's now a contest!!!!!

This could be cool ...

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

i totally agree...it's so annoying to hear results before polls are closed, and even more annoying that states practically declare the winner days before the election. nothing like motivating apathetic voters, huh?

hmmm...will have to think of a good way to pass the time that night instead of watching election coverage.

Anonymous said...

Playing DDR on the Wii with my teenager. In fact, we'll probably also be using our new Wii Fit that your awesome daughter found and snagged for us on her latest Walmart run. Exercise. That's what we'll be doing.

Jim said...

OK...here's what I thinks you'll do....

First, you'll go buy that 'much deserved' 42" Flat Screen....then...you'll watch a movie on it and enjoy 'da corn'!

DO I WIN!!!!!

Ron said...

Jim, you would win ... but I like it when my knees only bend in one direction.

Anonymous said...

the best i can offer

and, sorry, it ain't much,

is

either candidate ain't got a clue, unfortunately

i am most sorry for the one(s) who espouse God for their cause

and, yes,
the Most Highs rule
Awomen and Amen!

ron,
you love the Lord and your family
cling tenaciously to His teachings

all else is just . . .

stuff

bless you brother,
i voted Obama/Biden for
Palin is a loose canon . . .,

s

Anonymous said...

Palin is a loose cannon but Biden isn't? I wonder that they allow anonymous #1 to vote at all. Your judgement, s, is something to behold.

tonguectsparrow7 said...

i will most likely be working at my fantastic job... MCDOANLDS! AND our tv is perminately set on a news/ politics channel. so guarentee i will be hearing all that boring stupid jargon...
you could come visit me! if u think teh world is going to end teh day after election day you might as well have some of america fave fries too :]

Anonymous said...

Ron,

I remember you once saying or writing that your idea of heaven was a mountain cabin with all the modern amenities with enough room for family and friends... This August we found something awfully close to Heaven on Earth just outside Gatlinburg, TN.

So, on election night, I recommend that you keep the t.v. off, go online and research your next long weekend getaway with your beautiful bride somewhere. Doesn't have to be Tennessee, but if you want specifics about where we stayed and what we did... you know how to reach me.

There's nothing like looking forward to the future with loved ones to make all the noise and hassle go away.

And as a side note, I agree with everything you said about the problems with calling elections early. I tell John all the time that the media routinely breaks most of the basic premises of good journalism that I learned in my journalism classes in college...but yet I watch it all the time anyway :-)

We'll be watching because I know my students are going to ask about it the following day, and so I want to know who said what, and how the networks handled the returns. Also, I'm always trying to stress and illustrate the importance of using reliable sources when conducting research. It will be interesting to see if the national media give us any glaring examples of what *not* to do.

It's a very educational, AND frustrating process.

Wishing you a happy election night!

Anonymous said...

Ouch Anon. #2. I don't know who #1 is, but a Christlike response may actually help #1 to see things a little differently.

I'm actually worried about the future, but it has to do with the electorate. People are so polarized that I am worried that something bad is going to happen, when either candidate takes office. Many people on both sides are so vehemently opposed to the opposite side. What happened to faith in democracy (and the electoral college)?

Additionally, I'm not afraid to sign my name.

With loving prayers for our nation,
diane

Anonymous said...

anon #1 here, again

one would think, by now, that i would know better than to react to a potentially volatile subject
late on a Friday night, weary from a long work week and sharing in the frustration of many over the world's ways

a couple of clarifications, if you will:

i use anonymous, mostly, because i am lazy and too many times have attempted to register on folks' blogs unsuccessfully
secondly, i am mom of 7 amazing adult children who don't always feel comfortable being discussed on the internet
since SO much of my life's lessons have been taught by them i can hardly be myself w/o sharing about them, ya know?
so, i very consciously try to lay low w/ WHO i am and still share HOW i am as i feel so led
i am not afraid to tell you i am susan . . . but what does that tell you but my birth name chosen by my parents in 1955
heck, i could even be lying and really be diane, or ron, or hussein and you'd never really know, would ya?
it is my understanding that Jesus, before he was openly about Our Father's business, was a man of many characters,
more concerned with what he did and why than who he was . . .

admittedly, in my friday fatigue, i didn't even read all of ron's post but, believe it or not, intended to speak in support of
what he said for the most part. i often have a very cryptic, rather avant garde way of writing that, unfortunately, can be
misconstrued, and i end up having to backtrack and explain myself.

yes, anon #2, "canon" was a typo but when i ran spell check on it, after the fact, i chuckled to myself to see that one of
it's definitions actually fit what i meant to convey though, i apologize for doing so in such a crude way - again the reactionary
posture . . .for, as MANY Republicans would agree, any chance that i would vote for McCain was dashed when learning
of his choice of running mate. i should have stated it thusly from the get go rather than resort to the name calling that
has been so indicative of her style, hypocrite me.

also, thank you for demonstrating what might be the most telling attitude of what i will call the far wrong (rather than right, ha!)
which is, "you see things differently than i do therefore you ought not be allowed to vote" for i am quite sure that you and i
would not see eye to eye nor tooth to tooth on too many things but i encourage you to vote and not afraid of the end result
my poor judgment, btw, did NOT allow me to vote for Bush and i have NO regrets, none


to the point:
perhaps any or all of us could host a "Love your Enemy" party on Tuesday night.
"I say to you: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who despitefully use you.
And whatsoever you believe that I would do to men, do you also to them."

imagine, doing unto others not even as i would be done to but as He would do . . .

for no matter who wins or loses, we are all gonna wake up on Wednesday as fellow Americans, part of the much larger Family of God,
Our Father one and the same of all who believe.

Ron said...

Okay, why can't we all play nice? I mean, sometimes I write these blogs that just ... just ... well, they bring me to tears! My own eloquence is enough to make me my favorite author! And when I write those blogs ... zero comments. Nada. Zippo.

And then I sit down and rip off a little piece thinking that nobody out there is reading anyway so I'll just have a little fun. You know, keep the statistics up. So I write a goofy little something about how I'll spend election night because THE NEWS ANCHORS drive me crazy.

Yes, indeedy. It was a blog about the media and my disdain for the prospect of this coming Tuesday night. That's all, folks.

Now. I want you all to go sit in "time out." Yes, this is the honor system. But, darn it, in America the honor system is suppose to work. So go. 30 minutes in the "time out chair" for ALL of you. Except for Neeser and tonguectsparrow. And that's just because one offered me fries and one offered me her cabin in the mountains.

Okay, seriously. I've been singing one version or another of "I Am Bound For The Promiseland" all of my life. I have come to believe it with every fiber of my being. There is NO election in heaven and NO sweat on the upper Lip of the One of the Throne. This is an e-l-e-c-t-i-o-n. Whoever wins will be my president. I'll pray for him but I won't worship him. I'll pay my taxes and not throw trash out my car window. Nothing changes on my end.

The rest? That's up to God.

Now. Off to the chair with you. And be nice or I'll close the comments on this blog and THEN where will we be? (answer: right where we were. Safely in the Hands of the God of heaven and earth. So do me a favor and ... relax.)

Unknown said...

Ron,

Just like I told my daughter today, I will be so glad when this election is over and everyone can get over thier political periods that have lasted oh so long.

As for a suggestion, take your wife out to a lovely romantic dinner then talk to your lovely granddaughter via the web cam then read a good book and relax! Don't turn on the tv until Wednesday morning when it is all over!!!!

Ron said...

Jennifer, whoever you are, you have hit a home run. thank you, bless you, may the wind be at your back and the road rise up to meet you!

Ron

Unknown said...

Ron,

I have been reading your blog for a while and it has touched me. I found you via the lovely Dana. My family is from Bethalto, IL. Grew up eating my favorite and craved Roma's pizza my whole pregnancy with my daughter.

Anonymous said...

HEY! Why did I get sent to time out? :)

Ron said...

Well, Jennifer, you are my favorite "comment leaver" ever! Anybody who digs up on Roma's is okay with me. Care to share a "Roma's Special" or perhaps Frankie's "White Sauce" pizza? You'll just have to pick it up and we'll meet up half way between B-town and Cleveland! (There ain't NO pizza worth eating in this city. It's a travesty I tell you!) Oh, and bring me a Hit "n Run Hum Dinger while you are at it! Pepsi with 1 1/2 pumps of vanilla! WOO HOO!

Ron said...

Sorry, Nicole. You were an innocent victim! After the new blog I posted tonight I decided I had best "moderate" my comments for a while. It wasn't you! I promise! Let's blame ... uh .... KELLI! :)

Unknown said...

I will be making a trip to Bethalto soon to see my aunt and uncle and as I feast upon Roma's I will eat a piece in your name :).