WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here.
Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending? And do be generous with your mojo!
On Tuesday, I turned 49.
That's not really an FP in itself. Unlike a lot of people, I don't mind birthdays -- especially when I consider the alternative. (I've been through so many deaths that I feel like my life's been one long f-ing funeral, but that's another story.)
But it got me thinking this week of all the things that occurred in the years since 1999, when I turned 40.
Probably the biggest change is that when I turned 40, we had a Democrat in the White House. Yes, he was a flawed human being in many ways, but he was a Democrat nonetheless. We were not involved in a war that didn't need to happen, we were not subjected to incompetence and cronyism.
Another change: when I was 40, the Twin Towers were still standing. I've only been to NYC once in my life (in 1990, the year before I got married), and never made it down to that part of the city. I thought that they'd always be there. 9/11/01 changed a lot of other things in my life -- most of which I'm not going to discuss here. But we weren't subjected every day to messages that we had to live in fear. we didn't have to take off our shoes at the airport, and we still had a Constitution that had protected us perfectly well for 200+ years. I haven't had a really good night's sleep in 7 years, because of the endless mantra of fear and death.
Yet another change is this community, which wasn't even a glimmer in Markos' eye in March of 1999. It's easy to say that if Gore had been victorious (and the SCOTUS less assholic) in 2000, none of us would be here -- and certainly we'd have a lot fewer FPs to bitch about. And it pains me to see what's happening to the community now -- I was tempted to post a photo of Karl Rove with the message "This man is laughing tonight" as my FP. I've decided not to attend Netroots Nation this summer, because I'm worried that if the nomination is still in doubt that it'll be a morass of rancor and division, and I'm not willing to subject myself or the spouse to that atmosphere.
So, what will the world bring when I turn 50? Well, if we're fortunate we'll once again have a Democrat in the White House. We'll be on our way out of Iraq (or at least the planning will be underway). A new structure will rise from the ashes in NYC, and a new country will rise from the Bush cesspool. Yes, whichever Democrat is in the Oval Office will be a human being, with his (or her) own flaws, but with luck, and due diligence on our part, will restore this country, our Constitution, and maybe my sleep habits.
So, that's mine -- what's yours?