KAMALA!

 

We awake this morning to the dawn of a new age.

I came to consciousness early in the morning to the news that Joe Biden had chosen the woman who is to be his running mate in 2020. It's Kamala Harris, whom I've been rooting for to take the spot for months. Things rarely go my way as far as American politics is concerned so you will please forgive me for savoring this scrumptious moment. No current member of the senate has impressed me more than the gentlewoman from California. I knew from the moment I first heard her speak a little over four years ago that she was going to be a star. I was just looking at a photograph of the 2004 Democratic nominees: two guys named John  (Kerry and Edwards). That will probably be the last time that we ever see two white guys as the nominees of the Democratic Party. After 2020, there will be no way of going back to the way things used to be. This is a jolly good thing. Don't expect diversity from the GOP any time soon. Ain't gonna happen, Bubba. 
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In the pre-Obama era, I would opine that I would live to see a black man living in the White House, but not a black woman. That phenomenon was probably a few generations out of reach for most of us. Now I'm not too sure. I can easily see this remarkable woman going for the big prize in 2028. Whatever her plans may be, the presence of Kamala Harris on the ticket this year is a remarkable and historic moment. For the first time in a very long while, I'm feeling a bit of hope for America again. It's a novel feeling.

My awe of her is only reinforced every time I hear her speak. Forgive me but I'm in love with Kamala Harris! One of my many problems is that I have this tendency of falling for gals I have no chance of hooking up with. Either they're famous, happily married - or dead (I have a serious thing for Maureen O'Sullivan and Gail Russell. Did I ever mention that?) Kamala is only my latest case of unrequited love. It's something I'll just have to deal with as best I can. Forgive me for having to point this out, but the fact that she is beautiful is an asset in the televisual world in which we live. She holds up more-than-well in front of the cameras. Sorry, but this is a fact that cannot be underestimated.

Poor Mike Pence. For the first time I'm starting to feel a bit of sympathy for the man. He and Kamala are scheduled to debate on October 7 at Salt Lake City, Utah. It's a certainty that a clash between her intellect and his will be like pitting a bird-of-prey against a baby lizard. No, this won't be a fair fight at all. The Democrats should show some mercy for the poor old geezer and just cancel the entire spectacle. Mike won't even know what the hell hit him. I cannot wait to see that one! It won't be pretty, boys and girls. We'll just leave it at that.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise.

 

Paul McCartney

Having Kamala Harris at second place on the ticket of a major political party is just another in the scores of truly historic events that I have been able to witness during my lifetime. The first news event that I have a memory of is when John Glenn orbited the earth in February of 1962. But this is something else indeed! This is a turning point in American history. African American women are a force to be reckoned with. One of the saddest things about the civil rights movement is that the story has always focused on the men. Not enough light has been shed on the women in that struggle who worked quietly behind the scene. What happened last night was truly the bright and shining moment for the African American woman.

So there you have it. This new era in American life crept upon us rather suddenly, didn't it? The sense of history being made is palpable. I couldn't be happier at this new reality.

Tom Degan

Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED LISTENING:

Blackbird

by The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Man4Xw8Xypo

All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to be free....