Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Obama and Grandmammas

My grandma Pearl would have loved Obama. She was a true liberal and oh so open minded for anybody, let alone somebody who was born in the 1910's. She had an open heart and home for people of all races and sexual orientations and knew how to celebrate the things that make us all different and the same. Like most people who lived through the Great Depression she was frugal to a fault when it came to herself, always paid in cash but was absurdly generous to everybody in the family. They scrimped and saved their whole lives and had a long, very comfortable retirement, first in a condo in Minneapolis and then another in Gulfport Florida.

After the 2004 election I called her in near hysterics and she talked me down. Four years is a tic in a long lifetime she was resigned but knew it would get better. But wherever she is now, I'm sure she's with Obama's grandmother were cheering, hand in hand. I miss her all the time, but particularly when I want to celebrate something like this.

I feel like America is emerging from a long sickness. A Lyme Disease of our collective souls. This moment now provides such a powerful feeling of redemption.

I don't think electing an African American president is going to be a magic bullet against all that is wrong with race relations in this country and the world. But it's a huge step in the right direction. It's a indisputable fact that we have in our hearts when we look into the trusting eyes of our children, be they Jewish, Latino, African American, bi-racial, Asian, or whatever, and tell them "The sky's the limit, my Love. You can be anything you want."

Grandma Pearl, I hope you're reading this. I love you and I miss you and I so wish you were alive to see this.

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