Each and every one

I sat on the train heading up to school this morning and between Martinez and Fairfield, I saw this guy who looked like a construction worker with worn Tims, a dirty cream-colored sweater with a plaid shirt underneath, standing in the back of his truck. He seemed to be deep in concentration, looking off into the distance even as my train sped by in front of him. I looked to my right, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was gazing at. I saw what seemed to be an endless stretch of swampy marshland. Small bodies of water had gathered from the storms that have been pelting the Bay Area the past several weeks. Weeds and unruly bushes dotted the land. Ducks and other small birds floated in the small ponds. A distant pole line and large tree jutted out of the land but otherwise, there was no sign of human activity. I wondered what he was so deeply thinking about. I haven't caught such a personal moment displayed in a public place in awhile.

My thoughts went immediately to a conversation I had with Mom the other night. We were chatting during my daily call about all the little things that had been going on in her day. We began to talk about the New Hampshire primary and I was surprised at how much she knew about the Iowa caucuses and how the New Hampshire primary was turning out. We had a great discussion about who she was thinking about voting for that night. Clinton seemed to be the best way to go, but she explained that Edwards also offered a lot of experience and he seemed genuinely concerned about middle class and poor people. I asked her what she thought Obama and she said she actually liked him but he didn't have enough experience. Maybe if he ran again... she started laughing and then told me that she became a Democrat last year after being a Republican all of her life. She just said: "It's time for a change. This country isn't doing too well." I asked if she knew which way Dad was going to go. She laughed and said: "You know your Dad, he's a Republican. He votes that way no matter what. I vote on the issues, no matter what party."

My thoughts then went to lunch yesterday. My friend, L, who I've known since high school always have lunch together at the beginning of the new quarter. He's one of the last friends I have from high school that keeps me connected to my "military" past. He is so funny and has such a brutally honest manner with me. He's always felt like the younger brother I never had. So at lunch yesterday, our conversation meandered over to the election and I asked if he had decided yet. He explained that he wasn't able to get his citizenship test scheduled was next week. I knew what this meant - he wouldn't be able to make the voter registration deadline at the end of January. I was sad that he wouldn't be able to cast his first vote as a US citizen this exciting election year. He's been in the US for most of his life (he's 32 I think), but not until recently has his application for citizenship come through. He told me that if he had a vote, it would probably be for McCain or Edwards. He began telling me about something he heard on NPR recently that made a lasting impression on him. McCain was giving some kind of speech and began talk about the other candidates and all their experiences doing this and that during a certain age. McCain, apparently said that he said he would have probably been doing all those things too but he was too busy being a POW. L thought this was great- a man who could joke about something as horrific as being a POW, a man who could tell it like it is, a straight talking politician. And all this greatly appealed to him.

In the past several weeks I have had some great conversations with people about politics. I followed New Hampshire closely because, as you all probably know, it was the first US primary. New Hampshire is also a notoriously independent-voter state so I was curious with how things would turn out.The fascinating thing was this little town in New Hampshire - Dixsville - comprised of 12 voters or so, was the first to cast and tally their votes. CNN captured the entire spectacle of individuals dropping their ballots into the ballot box, then the voting officials, many of who just dropped their votes in, open the box and began counting. In a matter of 5 minutes, the votes were verified and a man, who is the great grandson (something like that) of the first voting official to count the votes from the first primary back in whatever year, went into the press conference room to announce the results. One by one, they went through the totals for each candidate and the crowd cheered when the results were revealed that the majority of the votes went to Obama.

The past several weeks have really heartened me. Recently I have come to believe that a general apathy has settled into my family and friends. Perhaps it's because talking about politics is too taxing and complicated. That the topic is impolite, so I've been told. I can only hope that people are being rude and violating this supposed social norm across the nation. A change is definitely necessary and the only way we can really bring it is if we think deeply and together.

*the title of this post is taken from a song written by Everything But The Girl that I was listening to at the moment of writing this post.