Joe Biden was just sworn in as President of the United States, and it feels like a turning point in the life of this country. Opinions have varied over the last five years concerning the man who's been the face of America, ranging from "the greatest man ever to be born of woma--ngggggh!" and "the most evil person we've ever had in politics, much less as President."
History will, of course, decide how Trump is remembered, but I have never cared so much about who our leader was and the ripples his actions created as I have been the last year. It's been such a lie and hate-filled last four years, that I must admit I have given into despair and unthinking hatred.
It's not you I hate, Cardassian. I hate what I became because of you.
It was with admiration and hope that I watched Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony this morning, and listened to his words optimism and desires for unity, in a country that feels more divided than we've been since Lincoln's day.
Watching the man urge us to embrace our better angels made me want to be a better person, and put away the disgust and resentment I've carried with me these past twelve months, if I can.
And yet, the anger creeps back in when I hear people say that both sides are just the same, and encounter people in my own family that embrace the conspiracy theories and venomous rhetoric that has been chanted with the gusto of torch-wielding villagers since Obama was in the White House.
My mom once told me that she wanted me to be a leader of the people, that she hoped I would stand out and be a strong individual that other people could get behind. And of course, I continue to be a great disappointment, to her and pretty much anybody I've ever interacted with. But on days like today, I want to stand tall and do what's right, even if it's the harder path to take, and fulfill the potential that was within me long, long ago, before I became mired in despair and embraced cowardice in the face of minor adversity.
I saw in that recently-elected old man, his white hair blowing in the January breeze, the potential of us all to find the strength within to stand up and make changes in the world, not for greed, self-aggrandizement, or intimidate our enemies, but so that, in a few short years, when our time on Earth is up, it's a better place than it was because we were on it, for our oh-so-brief time in the spotlight.
Of course, those are just words. And now it's time to sit down, in this hour and five minutes before the library closes, to write something down and get some words chalked up, on the three hundred and fiftieth day in a row of writing.
Sit-ups Today: 100
Sit-ups In January: 2339
Push-ups Today: 60
Push-ups In January: 1747
I asked Gino if he'd do another cover for me--I really take advantage of the dude more than I ought to--this one for "podcatcher," which I've decided is going to have a lowercase title. I took five to ten minutes to sketch out what I wanted, trying my best to translate what I had in my head to a pencil and paper. I wanted it to be a rough black and white image like Edward Gorey or Tim Burton would do, where most of the detail was hidden by shadow (or pencil strokes).
But I just couldn't get it to look like what it was in my head. I initially had it naked, then tried to draw a trenchcoat (too small) on it. Then I erased the legs and made them longer, trying to convey that they bend the wrong way. This was the best I could manage:
Almost immediately (despite him living so far in the future that he can tell you about the Downey cameo in BLACK WIDOW), Gino did his own version, just as a proof of concept:
It's great that Gino will do this stuff for me, over and over (and over and over) again. Cue Jane from THE NAKED GUN.
Words Today: 637
Words In January: 13,753
*I get why those that hate him would want him to fail. I really do. I didn't want Trump to build his wall or to kick the Muslims out of the country or drill for oil wherever he wanted or appoint sleazeballs, toadies, thugs, and fratboys to high government positions or to be able to have intercourse with his daughter. But when Biden says he wants us to unite, regardless of our race or political affiliation, to eradicate the Coronavirus, to improve the quality of life for the poor and middle class, and see if we can't do the same for our planet . . . well, there's a certain self-destructiveness in longing for him to fail. Of course, there are many (too many) that don't see a difference.
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