Sunday, November 18, 2018

Looking up

I've had my head down, writing. I did manage to complete a full draft of the book late last week, as my due date barrels toward me. I am now deep in the editing, always the more fun part of the process, even though I'm assailed by doubts about whether what I've produced is good. I dream fondly of the days when people spent five, ten years on a single book, but how did they make a living? I certainly can see how much richer a work of writing might be if one had the luxury of living with the story long enough to allow hidden connections to show themselves and unforced poetry to tiptoe in.


In other news, the subject of the book I co-wrote last year, Lucy McBath, won her race in Georgia! Against all odds, she is now a congresswoman, an eventuality that was not even a glimmer in her mind when we began our process. But after Parkland, she decided to run. The kids were the same age as her son when he was taken by gun violence, she said, and they were fighting the cause of gun reform so courageously. She wanted them to have backup in the chambers of law, and so she decided to run in Georgia's sixth district, where she lived. She was an African American Democrat running on a gun reform platform in a white Republican district in the deep gun-loving South. And she won! This woman inspires the heck out me. Her book is here.

As for the rest of the midterms, it turns out that despite disappointments in the Florida and Georgia gubernatorial races, and the Texas senate race, and despite successful GOP efforts to gerrymander districts and suppress the vote, there was indeed a big ole walloping blue wave, as more women and people of color than ever before were elected to political office. This piece by Joan Walsh in The Nation sums up how I feel about what happened. I won't rehash it here. Suffice it to say that in the days right after the election, I didn't know how to feel, but now I think the results were a fine repudiation of the party of Trump, and may the trend continue into 2020.

And now Thanksgiving is upon us. Family members have already started to arrive. My niece came from college last night, my cousin arrives from Trinidad on Tuesday, and my other cousin and niece arrive from Orlando on Wednesday. Another niece arrives bright and early from Jamaica on Thanksgiving morning—and those are just the ones who are staying with us. My daughter and her guy, my niece and her fiancĂ©, and my son will also sleep over on the nights before and after Thanksgiving, because tripping over each other in our small apartment is just part of the fun.


8 comments:

  1. I hope you know that you have had a finger in the tide of history. I'm sure that Lucy's book had a lot to do with her absolutely amazing win.
    Your apartment is like the United Nations of Thanksgiving this time of year. I watch from afar, stunned and delighted at how it all goes together so beautifully.
    Just like your books.

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  2. So much to be thankful for, especially that Lucy McBath won her race!

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  3. Thank you for putting some of my disappointment in Florida into perspective. Maybe now that voting rights will be restored to ex prisoners those thin republican margins can be overcome. For Beto to do as well as he did gives me great hope for my future state, I'm trying to keep in mind Texas gave us LBJ and Ann Richards.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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  4. I love Lucy McBath's success so much. It made me so happy to see that news. Yes, I'm hoping for a blue trend to continue to 2020. Sanity would be such a nice gift. I hope you and your beautiful family have a wonderful and celebratory Thanksgiving.

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  5. Your family sounds wonderful and that you all come together. I'm sure what you've written is wonderful too. I'm finishing up the last piece of the group intended for the open house so I feel my timing is good as I'll have a week after Thanksgiving to design and ready my display. I think it took awhile to figure out how well we did though there were some disappointing loses like Beto. I had high hopes but wasn't sure if it could be done quite yet. I read today that lots of donors are waiting to commit to a presidential contender to see if Beto will run. At any rate, in two more years more damage will be apparent as his policies really start to cause changes and that's good for us, politically. I think, hope, that by then only the real cultists will still be supportive.

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  6. From Canada, too, we are so happy to see the results of the mid-terms. The U.S. has such power and influence -- for good or bad -- in the world. Yes, let the trend continue, please; let it continue.

    Happy Thanksgiving, my friend! Enjoy your well-earned holiday!

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  7. So proud of you for nearly finishing your next project. I'm so impressed! I was thrilled that Lucy won and felt much the same as you in the days following the mid-terms. Out here in California, our Swing Left efforts were so rewarded, but my god, a lot was eclipsed by the terrible fires. I hope you and your beautiful family enjoy Thanksgiving!

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  8. Enjoy the Thanksgiving, you have much to celebrate and congratulate yourself for!!!!

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