The Life in My Years

It was 3:30 A.M-ish when I peeked at my phone, shielding the light from Cora in order to avoid an elbow in the ribs. Joe Biden had taken the lead in Georgia. Well, that was like the wee hours of Christmas morning when you hear the rustling of wrapping paper downstairs and sleep becomes the impossible dream.

At 6 A.M. I couldn’t stand the suspense so I got out of bed and made for the T.V. tuner. When I turned on the T.V. I found that Santa had indeed arrived. Biden was ahead in Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. None of those states had yet been called, the counts are razor thin and there are more votes to be counted. My heart celebrated while my head warned me that Santa could still repossess the gifts. Let’s remember that old saying, reworded in the more appropriate language of the day, “It’s not over until the plus sized person sings.”

Finding himself behind is Trump now going to reverse course and demand that every corner of every state be scoured for missing ballots?

We’re getting down to the point where some important details should be looked to.
Lock up the White House silverware.
Inventory the paintings and statuary.
Lock away the portrait of Obama to make sure that junior doesn’t slash it.
Revoke the passports of the whole clan along with Giuliani’s, Barr’s, Pence’s and any other potential future residents of the stony lonesome.

And while that’s all tongue in cheek (sort of) there are some serious matters that face America and the world for the foreseeable future. The races are still close and are yet to be called, for either candidate. If the races get called for Biden and he gets 270 or more electoral votes, it seems unlikely that Trump will go quietly and even more unlikely that the more rabid cult members will simply gather at the local saloon and drown their sorrows under waves of PBR.

The Trump family has been irresponsibly flinging out baseless claims, conspiracy theories, accusations and threats of lawsuits, and a handful of Republicans are coming off the walls. Trump never has shown any concern for the weight that his words have carried. His ravings will do nothing to calm the anger that’s brewing in Trumpland.

And what of the next two and a half months between the official vote certification and the inauguration? I’m reminded of the days of the real estate crisis of the late 2000’s when people who had their homes repossessed trashed the places and stole cabinets and fixtures before vacating. Is Trump going to be vindictive? Is he going to (further) trash the country?  With nothing to lose is he going to go on a firing binge?  Fauci immediately comes to mind.  Hell, is Trump going to start a war?

A tweet from Kaitlan Collins this morning says that Trump might indeed be vindictive, “Trump has told people he has no intention of conceding the election even if his path to victory is effectively blocked. Trump-world is becoming concerned that someone is going to have to reckon with him that this race is coming to an end — but who?”  I’d sure hate to be the guy who draws the short straw.

A task lies before the GOP leadership in the Congress, the Senate and the Cabinet and that is to take the president by the hand and guide him to do the right thing. And if he doesn’t take guidance then lock him in the basement of the White House until January 21st and take away his phone.

A disappointing tweet from a member of the Biden Campaign, “The American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.”
If I were Biden I would show that person the door. In the heated environment that this nation is in right now this is not the time to start poking the bear.

I’ve been hugging my wife, jumping up and down, clapping my hands and pumping my fist. I can’t remember when I’ve felt such relief and joy. I’ve heard from people who have been brought to tears as they realize that the four year reign of terror might just be sunsetting.

And yet as bad as the Trump years have been there are nations that have gone and are going through so much worse. I realize in a small way how those people must feel when the yoke is removed. Their happiness must be boundless. I think about Cora’s family in the Philippines and how they must have felt when Ferdinand Marcos was toppled from power. They must have been feeling the way I’m feeling now only they experienced this sensation multiplied one hundred fold.

It’s evening now. For the most part I’ve stayed away from the T.V. It’s been an errands and gardening day. I’m putting the final touches on the front yard project that I started back in April. I guess maybe it’ll be done about the time that the election is called.

The electoral totals are still stuck at 253 to 213 in favor of Biden with counting still going on. Biden has been increasing his margins except in Arizona where Trump has been chipping away. It doesn’t look like there are enough uncounted votes left to get Trump an Arizona victory.

A report that some of Trump’s family, friends and colleagues are trying to lead him to a place of acceptance of the inevitability. In a small sense I feel bad for the guy. While it’s against his nature, I hope he takes defeat with whatever contrition and grace he can muster. Given his history that’s probably a pipe dream. At 74 years old he’s probably never faced a situation like this before, where he couldn’t manage to buy, negotiate or bluster his way through the problem. For him this must be like being in a strange land with no map and no translator. It’s almost pitiable. Just for my own peace of mind I’d like to end my personal Trump chapter with some tranquility and peace of mind, because these years have been exhausting.

Demonstrations by both sides are going on.
A couple of yokels from Virginia packed their guns, got in a Hummer and made for the vote counting center in Philly. I guess about now they’re conversing with their court appointed attorneys.
Lindsay Graham stopped frothing at the mouth today and was sounding a little bit more measured.
Republican Senator Ray Blunt opined that you can’t ask for the count to stop in one state and to continue in another. He’s one of the Republicans trying to lead him gently into the inescapable reality.
Meanwhile Rudy Giuliani is still acting like everyone’s embarrassing drunk-le Bob, raving about votes being cast from the grave and claiming to receive calls from all over the country reporting fraud (because the whole system must grind to a halt on the basis of every wild rumor). Consider this Rudy, if the Democrats had the horsepower and cunning to engineer a Biden victory in Arizona, Georgia and the blue wall then Lindsay Graham and Mitch McConnell would be looking for work come January instead of heading back to Washington for another six years.

From what I’ve been hearing from pundits, when it’s written, history is going to show that the African-American vote came through big time, once again pulling the Democrat’s chestnuts from the fire. For me it’s a smart bet that Stacy Abrams, who ramrodded the get out the vote campaign in the Black communities of Georgia, might be in line for a cabinet position if Biden pulls this out.

And in Arizona, win or lose, it appears that the Latinx community takes the credit for a Democratic surprise in that state.

Finally, lost in all the vote counting brouhaha, let’s not forget Kamala Harris. She’s on the verge of becoming the first woman V.P.

It’s 8:00 P.M and we won’t have a declared winner tonight. I’m going to go watch a couple of episodes of Schitt’s Creek and go to bed.

I’d like to continue this narrative through the weekend but we’re going to Tahoe for a couple of days and then a couple of days in a little Gold Rush burg called Dry Town which, during these crazy days, is probably far from dry. I’m relatively sure that by the time I’m back home a winner will have been declared.