Today feels like a beach day. When something wonderful happens, I immediately want to go to the beach. This photo is taken on Cape Cod, a place of my youth and one of my favorite spots on earth. When I was a little girl, my parents watched Watergate on a black and white tv one long week while we were on vacation in nearby Martha’s Vineyard. I will never forget how angry and shocked they were that our government was so revolting.
My Dad worked in the Civil Rights movement when I was young and equal opportunity for all were big issues in our family from the start. Unfortunately, I went to a conservative college during the Reagan years so my first memories of a President that I actually liked was of Bill Clinton. I lived abroad all through his years at the helm. When Bush came onto the scene, it became nearly unbearable to have to “defend” the US to Italian friends who couldn’t understand how we voted for him. I had a hard time myself but after a while, I confess, I got tired of defending my country and trying to explain that we were not all the way they saw our government. Today, I got congratulations messages and words of joy from all of my Italian friends, even those who vote for Berlusconi. One friend made me laugh saying she was sad merely because now I wouldn’t have to move back…I know many people feel as happy as I do today. I love the fact that the content of a man’s character matters more than the color of their skin, as Dr. King had hoped.
I feel like this picture today. Calm and serene. It seems like perfect weather (internal weather that is) and there is not a cloud in the sky. I know there will be clouds on the horizon later on and my 401K took a beating as did everyone else’s in the market but today I just want to enjoy this feeling of immense peace and joy at our country. This way, when I go to Italy, I can hold my head high and feel proud of my President.