"Congratulations on electing a winner" said Kevin to me the next morning after the election.
"Huh?" I replied, not having enough caffeine yet.
"You voted for Obama...the last time I elected a winner was in 1988, twenty years ago: George Herbert Walker Bush"
"For me it was 1992 (with great bravado!)...and then in 1996."
"Who won the county sheriff seat?"
"(Larry) Dever was re-elected. Who did you vote for?" I asked.
"(Norm) Bradley."
"Why?" Bradley is a Democrat. Kevin does not normally vote Democrat.
"I wanted change. Dever is too soft on illegal immigration."
"Sheriff Joe Arpaio (from Maricopa County/Phoenix) was re-elected for a fifth term" He's the controversial conservative sheriff I wish we had in our county. Pink underwear for inmates and tent-like facilities for prisoners is what we need. I like law enforcers who are tough on crime, especially with our drug smugglers and coyotes. His antics have made national news.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/arizona/101725.php
"You should have listened to McCain's concession speech. He was a true gentleman. He sounded more like himself than during the last months of the campaign." I told Kevin. ( Kevin went to bed early last night. The concession speech was aired at 8:30pm Arizona time.) "He will get my vote again next time if he runs for another term."
As it turned out, over 60 percent of Cochise county voted for McCain, Tucson was the biggest "blue blob" on the state map with Flagstaff. Voters also voted for Proposition 102, the "gay marriage ban."
And sadly, voters in Cochise County voted against two school boards' requests for budget overrides. This means continued crowded classes, no pay raises, and cuts in art, music and tech classes. This also means residents will continue to complain about the schools' lack of qualified teachers, lack of sports programs, etc.
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/11/05/news/doc4911594c14d4f176656783.txt
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/11/05/news/doc491159fc0986b040339530.txt
After Kevin left for work I had time to work on my EDU assignment and looked at the red and blue blobs on a nationwide map. South Texas was all blue, from San Antonio on down. Austin, Houston were also blue. Northwest Indiana's three industrial counties --Lake, Porter, LaPorte, to include St Joseph and Starke--all voted blue
There were counties in the North Texas Panhandle that voted over 80% for McCain. I got carried away looking at statistics.
http://cochise.az.gov/ElectionResults/Cochise_Election_Results_11_04_08.htm
I couldn't focus on my assignment much. The red and blue blobs distracted me. I went from blobs to governors to see who was elected. Indiana surpised me by voting 49.9% for Obama. When was the last time Indiana voted "blue?" Florida, Virginia and North Carolina went blue, too. A few Republican incumbents were ousted, like North Carolina's Senator Elizabeth Dole and New Hampshire's John Sununu.
My US Constitution instructor didn't get very many predictions correct.
I got so carried away looking at post-election "blues" that the dogs were never walked. Even Sammy, who had been limping for two days, looked anxious to hit a trail.
I really didn't want to go to work in the afternoon. It was cooler and breezier than yesterday, but the sky was nearly all blue.
There were a surprising large amount of Border Patrol vans along the highway. And this was in the middle of the day.
_____________________
Life had gone back to normal. I arrived at the school, got my office key, read the instructions and prepared myself mentally for the K-graders I was slated to have for a few hours. K-graders, that was a first for me. They should have been a dream. I had a plan. They were going to be actively engaged. The first group was going to listen to a story I had selected from the teacher's pile of recommended reading. The kids sat on the carpeted floor, close to my feet.
I selected a short narrative called "My teacher for President" to make light of yesterday's historic event. One boy knew who the president elect was and clearly blurted out "Barack Obama!" He, surely had a fun night at home last night.
The kids weren't as focused as I thought they would be. Two boys got up and ran around the book shelves. Another girl chatted with the aide. Another boy rolled over and wanted to nap. I continued reading. The story, as it turned out, wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be.
"What happened to your feet?" screamed one girl who was sitting closely to me. I looked down, afraid I had stepped in dogshit or had something as unappealing as such on my shoes. I stopped to look at my feet, but all I saw were my bare feet in my open-heeled loafers. What was this girl talking about?
She was pointing at my left heel. And indeed, an old blister which had hardened and cracked stood out. At closer examination my feet did indeed look ugly: calloused, dry, cracked and in dire need of a pedicure. Even the shoes looked like they hadn't been polished in a while. At least I had the foresight to have shaved my legs that morning. They should have seen the pre-shave stubble!
The kids now all wanted to see my feet and moved closer to me. I don't wear socks unless it's cold out and right now it's still mild enough to leave socks and jackets at home. (But weather is slowly turning cooler and a frost warning is predicted for tonight). I couldn't get the kids to concentrate on the story anymore. Now my feet were front and center. And boy were my feet ugly.
That's it, I'm wearing socks from here on out. I couldn't wait to finish the school day so I could get back home and finish my EDU assignment. This one was a hard one to complete.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/politics/265897
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS0502/81103041
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081106/NEWS0502/811060460
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5ggr5sbxEgCfye-YIuNDMYNEFHVbw
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/266041.php
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/265977.php
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