it's all so exciting!
Last night I watched the Obama Inauguration concert on TV, and I have to admit that I get a little choked up when people sing patriotic songs. Pardon me, but I still love* "This Land is Your Land" do, do, do, do, do This land is my land,
From Cal-i-for-nia to the New York is-land,
From the redwood fo-rest to the gulf stream wa-ters,
This land was made for you and me.
Sorry. I couldn't stop myself. (Tell the truth. You sang it just now, too, didn't you. Yes you DI--ID. And if it plays over and over inside your head all day and into the night so you can't sleep, please don't be mad.)
In all this excitement, I feel sort of like a little girl on Christmas Eve. The glitter, the lights. And soooo much hopeful anticipation! If only for a moment, all the possibilities are still . . . . . . . . possible.
Yet, I'm old enough to know that all our hopes can't be realized and all our dreams can't come true in this one. new. president. And they shouldn't be expected to because it's not JUST about him. Listen here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96890409
Still, I'm REALLY excited! And I don't want to be disappointed.
So, in the spirit of it all, I'm going to start this era out with all my old patriotic tapes and CD's and have a big, loud celebration right here at the homestead. All day long. While I do a Martin Luther King Day community service project** centered around organizing some drawers and a closet upstairs.
And from now on, I'll walk instead of drive whenever I can. I'll recycle. I'll exercise, and eat out less. I won't procrastinate. (Lola Fallana, the long-ago-promised box is on its way!) I used to do all these things, but I got lazy.
*Do you want to know why? Because I think of all the ESL kids I teach--the Anas and Joses, the Alejandras and Jesuses and Cesars--and I want them all to be happy here, to feel like it's their country, too, and to see a future that's brighter than the one their parents had which compelled them to come here in the first place. And to not have to hear any more hateful remarks that demean them or tell them to go back where they came from. I want them to notice that we elected a president with skin the same color as theirs, not the one that dominates my little town. And then for all of us to forget about skin color entirely.
** I use this term loosely. :>)
2 comments:
Well said, my sis. I heard an alumni Boys & Girls Club choir sing on GMA this morning and I rewound it and listend 3 times. They sang God Bless America and it was great! Have a fun, service-oriented holiday today.
let's paaaarty! i love those songs too (and i like paula poundstone). fun post, auntie. i heard some npr peeps talking today about how they expect obama's speech to differ dramatically from JFK's (in a good way)...harnessing our expectations and hopes and steadily accomplishing what's needed--as opposed to making dramatic, inspiring promises that are impossible to fulfill. as one commentator said, obama could just stand up there and stare at us and the moment would still speak for itself.
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