The rain kind of cleared up, but after about an hour on the road the sky once again unleashed the fury and we were driving in one of the worst rainstorms I’ve ever been privy to experiencing. It was relentless. Pounding our windshield. Our wipers couldn’t keep up at all and we were slightly concerned that the big cracks in our windshield might give way to this onslaught. The freeway was a legitimate river -- solid sheet of water. We decided to pull off and eat some breakfast rather than crawl along at such a slow pace, or risk getting in some sort of accident in the current conditions. Cam and I settled into another Waffle House adventure while Lisa cruised off to Target to quell her shopping urges.
By the time we were all done with our chosen indulgences, the rain had mostly cleared and we hit the road again. Just a few miles down the road there were a couple of major accidents holding traffic up and reassuring us of our decision to pull off when we did.
As we headed into Atlanta we heard from our buddy Travis -- from his perch in California -- as he had been seeing on the news about extreme weather out in Georgia. It had mellowed out, though, and we definitely seemed to be missing the worst of it. As we drove through Atlanta we noticed a bunch of the damage from the tornado that had ripped through the city just a few days prior. We also started hearing about major flooding in Southeast Missouri and Eastern Arkansas, an area we were in just a few days ago. Just a few steps ahead of the disasters it seemed. Pretty wild.
We got stuck in rush hour traffic in Atlanta for awhile, but soon broke free and cruised on to our hotel in Aiken, South Carolina -- the home of The Burgundy Curtain and right across the river from Augusta, GA. Nick from The Burgundy Curtain had set up the Augusta show and had helped us track down a cheap hotel room for the night -- our first of tour. Upon arriving, him and his childhood friend Elizabeth cruised over and we all shot the shit for a few hours before Cam and them decided to hit the town and Lisa went to bed while I nestled up with the computer to catch up on some work.
I’ve been thoroughly addicted to the current presidential campaign, as I’ve been sincerely moved by Barack Obama -- first back when he spoke at the 2004 convention, then again when my sister got me his book The Audacity of Hope, and now during this presidential campaign. I sincerely believe that he can help transform the political and overall mindset of our country. I believe that he represents a future that can help this country mature out of its adolescence that has had us as a nation thoroughly confused about who we are -- riddled with internal struggles, disagreements and immature bickering -- like any awkward teenager trying to figure out its path to adulthood. I not only trust that he will provide some truly sound judgement in the oval office, but will also be a leader that we as a people can trust -- something it seems we haven’t had for a long time. And that, coupled with his speaking ability and willingness to speak to us as if we’re intelligent creatures capable of understanding the complexities of our
country and world, will help to renew the spirit of this great county and help us all tackle the growing challenges of an uncertain future here on earth together. Its wild. Its historic and an opportunity that we would be fools to let pass us by. Its been frustrating watching the cheap political maneuvers of old from both the Right and the Clinton campaign -- the kind of tactics that prey on our perceived ignorance and short attention spans and that at times are successful with many voters. Especially with this recent distortion of Obama's former pastor and what that relationship means about Obama and Obama’s views of this country. Complete and udder distortion. Then Obama gave one of the boldest and most remarkable speeches I’ve encountered in my lifetime. Two days ago Obama gave a 40min speech on race relations and politics. I saw snippets about it on the front pages of all the newspapers at our stops all day yesterday, so around 2am I took a break from my work, sat back and watched his speech. Truly historic. Completely moved by what it asked of all of us, and it’s candor and willingness to talk frankly about the “elephant in the nation’s closet”. I felt myself transform. I felt myself being able to be honest about how race is perceived in my own mind and I sensed the transformation and realized what a mature conversation this was for anyone, much less the country as a whole. I noticed that this video had been the most viewed video on Youtube since it was posted and suddenly felt like I had entered into a new paradigm with everyone else that had seen it. It was unbelievable. I have little doubt that Barack Obama will be our next president, and know that it will be a great disservice to us all if he isn’t. Imagine a world with Obama leading the nation’s dialogue. The possibilities for a return to moral and intellectual greatness would be wide open to us. We could start carrying the responsibilities of being the leaders of the free world with true honor once again and be a part of a nation truly proud to be a part of itself, with the populace willing to do what it takes for the good of us all. A pipe dream? Maybe. But we’d certainly be a lot closer to it with Obama as our leader than anyone else that’s being offered to us at this point in time. I highly encourage everyone to watch this speech in its entirety. Don’t rely on the soundbites and the intense spin on him, race and so many other worthy issues in this country. Most of the press continues to fail us. Constantly sensationalizing and pushing us apart rather than helping us better understand the truth and what can help us work together. Remember that they’re profit machines. Nothing else. They are no longer here to serve us, only themselves. Listen to Obama and others willing to speak to us like adults... Watch this speech and continue to pay closer attention than the Clintons, talk radio, and others afraid of Obama would like you to. Pay close attention and make up your own mind. Here's a link to the speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU
word. sorry for the monologue. don't mean to shove anything down anyone's throat, just wanted to share how i've been feeling about this whole issue recently. this speech re-stoked the fire for sure. pretty incredible.
Reporting from a moment of renewed inspiration and a lot of faith in our country’s future.
::: gilbert
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