sweet beginning

I tremble. I just got off the phone with Mom, and Dad & Karrie. Champagne and tears flow. I've been swapping texts with my brothers Matt and Ben. Sharon and I hugged, kissed, cried happy tears, danced, kissed, and hugged. I opened the front door and 'yee-hawed!' at the top of my lungs.

We are different now. On the night I saw President-elect Obama speak in Denver on the last night of the Democratic convention, I spoke to a homeless black man as we walked home and he was jubilant. I wonder what he's feeling now. There is celebratory gunfire in the black, 5-Points neighborhood of Denver. I wish I had a gun to shoot in celebration too.

Sharon is in bed. I walked down to the corner liquor store and bought myself a celebratory beer. It's owned by a middle aged couple from the Middle East. The man and I grinned at each other when I walked in. The woman rang me up and we smiled broadly at each other and shook hands. We spoke quickly and excitedly to each other. She said that this night was for the future of her children and her grandchildren and for anyone who works hard.

I told her that I'm ready to have children. She laughed and said "Get to it! Your wife is beautiful!"

I just set off a round of Black-Cats in front of my home.


I'm reminded of Sheridan, who's new baby daughter could become our president in the future.

I was 13 before I had a conversation with a black person. While I was on vacation in Denver with my family, years ago, a man at a Target store approached me. I was in the music section looking at cds. He asked me who sang the song People Are People. I knew the answer was Depeche Mode, but I couldn't recall this at the time because I was, though innocently, distracted by his skin.

I'm grown now, and long ago I fertilized the ground with that distraction, and so has my country.



Senator Obama will be sworn into office on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009. When he is sworn in, he will stand on stone steps that were built and put into place by black slaves.


The doors have been swung wide. For everyone who helped make tonight happen, thank you. Me and myself are very, very happy fellows. Que Beethoven's 9th, Ode to Joy.





God bless us, everyone.

Dave