Thanksgiving

Marie and I enjoyed a quiet lazy Thanksgiving alone in the house. We sat in our pajamas until about 4:30. We then ate and went out to the new Bond movie.

On Friday I went to NSTA (National Science Teacher Association) conference in Portland and met up with many of my graduate school classmates. At the end we decided to go to a bar and share a drink. My mother and my aunt were also coming in from Montana at the same time. They joined us for a brief reunion and then I drove them Carlton with me.

On Saturday Marie and I prepared a Thanksgiving feast with the help of her parents, my mom and aunt as well as some friends that we invited. We had a house full, twelve people, sharing our meal and our wine. We had delicious pumpkin pie and then people drove home.

On Sunday, after a meal of leftovers, Mom, Marie, Aunt Mary and I went to a winery for a tasting and then headed to Portland for a Joan Baez concert. The concert was great and Joan sang new songs as well as Joe Hill, Swing Low, The night they drove dixie down, long black veil, Love is a four letter word, and for her encore she sang amazing grace with the help of the crowd. It was a thrill and great to spend with my mother who is a huge fan.

Marie and I had to teach on Monday and Mom and Mary left early. Marie and I then had parent teacher conferences all this week. It was a good week. I met with many parents I did not expect to meet with, but had wanted to meet with.

I hope everyone has had a blessed thanksgiving and have many things to be thankful for. I know I do. PEACE!

Obama Obama

Marie and I drove to Corvallis after school on Tuesday to watch the election results with our friends. We were in a house with fellow teachers and watched the Daily Show/Colbert Reports live coverage on Comedy Central. A giant cheer went up when they called it for Obama, then we switched it over to NBC to be sure it was legit.

It was a fun crowd. I remember in 2004 sitting at the dining center at OSU with my co-workers and having tears stream down our faces as we watched not only the president slip away but many ballot measures in many states that banned homosexual marriage.

This year was different. Instead of tears, there were cheers. We drank champaigne and watched with bated breath as Obama delivered his speech. There were children present: a baby, a toddler, and two elementary aged students. We told them how historic the night was and how exciting it is(for us) at what had happened.

We also had a weird 4-degrees of seperation from Obama tonight. Michelle Obama's brother, Craig, is the new basketball coach at OSU. His children go to school at the local public high school and there were teachers at the party tonight. So...1. Dave (teacher at CVHS) has 2. Criag's son in class...who 3. stood next to Obama on stage tonight in Chicago. We all felt a little closer!

I did not tear up tonight until the drive back. As I was driving listening to NPR, I imagined Obama as our leader and meeting with foreign heads of states. Instead of it being a hope, it was now a reality. I imagine his input at the G8 summit, where I can only think about the atrocities that BUSH and other Money hungry leaders must have come up with. Obama I truly believe will think about the little guy and the little nations.

Thank you to all who have donated time, money, energy, and prayers to the election season. It was hard fought and long deserving. I know I have goosebumps and have had them for most of the night.

God Bless America.