Election Year

Generally I try to use this blog to voice my opinions without getting overly controversial.  I try to stay away from political or religious heavy topics, and just touch lightly on the subjects from how I view them in the context of personal experiences.  But I think for just a moment, I'm going to make an exception.  It is an election year after all, and it's hard to have much else on your mind with the election itself only two weeks away.

There's a lot to be said about each candidate and honestly, none of it matters to me.  Republican vs. Democrat has become such an embarrassment for us as a country and we hold a very Libertarian household.  What is a Libertarian you might ask?  A friend once said it best, "It means you want the government to get the hell out of your life."  Simple as that and yet not simple at all.

I'm tired of the country handing us two candidates, both owned by the political party they embrace, backed by dirty money that expects their agenda to be followed pending election, and giving us the illusion that any of it is OUR CHOICE.  That's just BS.

We live in a complex world that will never be anywhere near perfect.  Without a doubt, I believe it will continue to get worse before it gets any better, as a whole.  I will be voting and I can guarantee that I will not participate in the process of elected dictatorship.  What has happened to liberty and democracy?

I think I grew up in a Republican household.  I say I think because my dad never said a word about it and my mom never declared it but always planted Republican ideals in my mind.  This was not apparent through her love of Republicans so much as her distaste for Democrats.  I don't know if I have a core rebellious nature or common sense just kicked in early, but even at the most basic level I knew I was just a little bit more Democrat, even though the social ideals of my religion seemed to coordinate with the Republican agenda.  As a grew older I realized I couldn't side with either one completely.  That's when things started to get weird, because Americans seemed so passionate about their party affiliation and I could not find a way in my mind to agree with one side completely.  It just seemed like everyone had something to bring to the table just the same as they had skeletons in their closets.  Imagine my surprise when I learned about more than two parties!

Our system is corrupt even at the most basic level.  Our country is in crisis a every turn, many of which I have felt the effects very personally.  It just seems that if we continue choosing between two forms of poison, or the lesser of two evils as most say, then we are still hurting ourselves.  It's time for real change.  If we don't vote our conscience now, we never will.  Fact: whomever I vote for will not be the next president, but that doesn't change my mind.  America needs to know that we have options, real options, and I will vote for any third party who will help us get to that point.  There will never be any change if we don't demand it.

On the Road Again

I once attended some sort of shark seminar at the Monterey Bay Aquarium with the Mr.  They showed us a tracking map of the sharks they had tagged and followed to learn more about their behavior and patterns.  Today, in one of the three airports I found myself in, I wondered what my map would look like if someone were tracking me.  Or even better, tracking me and the husband.

I imagined someone tagging me with a gps the way Walter White helps Hank track Gus in Breaking Bad.  

I don't mean to seem braggart or ungrateful, but I'd have been happy to stay home this week.  Turns out that our new city is really growing on me.  Husband is overseas at school this week and I needed to squeeze some work in, so here I am in the sunshine state.  Even people with no real jobs have to work sometimes!  And I love the work.  I'm just.... tired.

Maybe it's a combination of too many airport scans, or carrying luggage with a mildly injured back, or the changing weather that brings with it the infections and viruses of the season and causes my arthritis to flare up, or... maybe I'm just getting old.  I feel like there are so many things weighing on my mind lately and I know I could be getting a lot done.

Even with my "over it" attitude, I am very excited to see friends and family this week.  I feel myself growing apart from the things that once meant the world to me and it makes me a bit sad.  That's why I was happy to see this:

It's this old unimpressive sign at the airport and every time I see it I think, "Really Orlando?  Some 50 million visitors a year and you can't update your welcome sign?"  (and trust me when I say it looks much more haggard than when this picture was taken).  But then it occurred to me that when the sign changes I'll also feel sad that this one is gone, if only because I take a mental note of it so frequently.  It has a way of saying that amongst constant change, it's still the place I love and remember so fondly.

It reminds me of a video rental store in the little town I grew up in- Cosmos Video on Main Street.  It's the kind of place where you can still rent VHS tapes after you've chosen the cover from the shelf and exchange it for the actual movie in the brown case.  Last time I was in there they still kept records on file via rolodex.  I check to see if it's still standing every time I drive by and sure enough, a lasting memory from my childhood!  It seems like everything else has changed there.  Numerous video stores have come and gone, the local grocer relocated down the street in a new building, about 15,000 more people have moved in, and I've lost count of the traffic lights they've added (to my recollection there was only the one).  My cousins moved out of their house to make way for Wendy's.  But still stands Cosmos Video, a familiar face amongst a sea of strangers.  

To be completely honest, I don't care much if it goes (Cosmos or the welcome sign), but it's been long enough now that I will remember these things forever, resembling a constant amid so much change.