Obama's speech last night was so good that it moved me to tears, especially when he talked about the lives of those who died, and the heroism of those who risked their lives to comfort the victims. His tone was just right; he didn't touch on politics but rose above it with his rhetoric. I have to admit it seemed more like a pep rally than a memorial service, a result, I think of the fact it was on a college campus, the audience filled with students at an auditorium, rather than a chapel. He asked for the best in all of us and when he talked about the nine year old who lost her life, he touched cords of emotion in all of us. She could have been any one's daughter, sister, granddaughter, or playmate. It was truly a great speech. No doubt it will not change the way the political world works, things will get back to normal, but for one brief evening, we put our anger and fear behind us and allowed ourselves optimism and hope. And what makes me admire Obama so much is the fact that he wrote most of the this speech, it wasn't the work of Peggy Noonan, as she did for Ronald Reagan. Obama writes his own major speeches, not all obviously, but the 'significant moments', because he has a mind, a belief, that he wants to share. He does not need someone to tell him what he should think, which seems to have been true for many of the most recent presidents over the past 30 years.
It's 16 degrees, a bit colder than yesterday, a hostile gray sky off to the east, though I don't think we are supposed to have much snow. We got another inch or so last night, so there is a dusting on my car. I am off to the breakfast club in a few minutes, then to the Honda dealer to have them figure out why my malfunction light is on, the third time in six months that it has been a problem.
Spent three hours and 110 bucks at the Honda dealer making sure a silly light does not come on. After all the checking, the put on a new gas cap and think that was the problem. Today's cars are so complicated, with all things computerized, that it's difficult to find out what's wrong without spending an arm and a leg, to use a cliche from the past. Breakfast was fine with the guys; we exchanged emails and I want to send them a essay on Leadership I really liked. Joe Johnson, who used to be a vice president of the CI, lives right up Morley Rd, about three minutes from us. He invited me over any time, as he has a huge barn with a workshop inside, and he let's any of his friends use it. He's a good guy and someone I could really get to like. I feel like such a novice because they all know the area so well, the politics in Jamestown, who is who, and when it comes to the country side, they have also been on all the trails, so they have helped come up with some good paths to ski on. Dick Redington heads to Florida on Saturday, until April, and Stan heads off a week from Saturday. So the club will dwindle for a while. Joe will be here for another five weeks, as he is getting daily radiation treatments for his prostate. Once it's over with he will head to Florida as well. Charlie Heinz will be here till April he said, when it gets pretty ugly around here, so all go somewhere in the winter. Maybe we will head to Florida, or perhaps Arizona, who knows, as we have no plans at the moment.
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