Buckle Up
This time tonight during the 2016 election, I was on an AM date with some guy who was too old for me but fun.
It was a beautiful night in NYC. We had a couple drinks at some swanky restaurant in midtown. As we walked west across town to our respective subways together, we came to Rockefeller Center. Hilary Clinton, her supporters and the press were there.
We stayed a bit then heard the Trump campaign supporters were in front of the Fox News building. Live election coverage was streaming on a giant screen facing a public space replete with Trump supporters.
Full disclosure: I didn’t want to vote for either of them. I held my nose and voted. Or not.
Guy I’m with turns out to be a big Trump supporter. We started talking with different people in the crowd. Eventually someone spotted his 6’4 head of white hair and came over to interview him. He went from being a bit drunk and funny to sober and somber. He was articulate. People started talking with us.
At one point states started unexpectedly turning red. The crowd was simultaneously astonished and elated. We were invited to celebrate at some bar I’d never heard of. What the heck?
The only people in this bar were Republicans. As a native New Yorker and Tribeca resident for nearly 30 years, I’d never seen this many of them together!
It was fun. They were smart. They were shocked. Drinks were free. The evening went quickly. Suddenly, around 1am, in walks Kimberley Guilfoyle and Eric Bolling from Fox. I was so drunk, I took a photo between them.
Yikes…
Fast forward four years to election night 2020. I’m in my bed about to watch the returns on livestream. There’ s no way I’m going out tonight, or early tomorrow morning. It’s unusually quiet inside my home tonight while helicopters circle overhead. My husband and son will not be watching the returns together, thankfully. They support opposing candidates. It is not a sport, not how my husband plays.
I’m not going out tonight nor early tomorrow morning. Cancelled my annual physical. Haven’t dated anyone on AM since July 2018. My 22 year old daughter is at a viewing party and will be staying overnight. My building, though in a prime location, is boarded up.
Our liberty is at stake. Our America is at stake. Our health is at stake. I voted for Biden.
My husband said earlier that he heard from his cousin who is a police lieutenant that the police were given the ok to arrest anyone tonight for a minor disturbance. Who? Said what?
To me, people who don’t live in NYC don’t realize that even though it’s a city run by Democrats, people come from all over to protest. My diehard liberal friend since adolescence who really should know better said “I guess they’re worried about all of the violent Democrat snowflakes.”
It’s hard for them to understand why storefronts and ground floors of buildings are boarded up. We New Yorkers are sick and tired not only of Orthodox Jews on the subway who refuse to wear masks. We are sick and tired of our beloved city being trashed.
I am no longer on AM. Hallelujah! I am in a once in a lifetime, incredible relationship with a man I love beyond words and hope to spend the rest of my life with, in the fullness of time.
Although I’m fairly certain I seduced him by using the expression “in the fullness of time,” it is this concept that has on occasion been quite challenging for me to absorb. He’s made me more patient.
He offers me the opportunity to open my mind to a different perspective. We still have enough variation of opinion to keep things interesting. We share the same core beliefs. We’ve just arrived at them differently.
My husband and I agree to disagree and will be selling our home in the spring. We were equally happy to hear today that our loft will most likely fetch what we want. The estimated selling price was up by over $100,000 since last month. I am hopeful…
10 p.m. Guess it’s time to watch the election results. My brother is reporting that he’s watching so I will join him. He is drinking beer and I am drinking red wine. I’m sure within the hour, I’ll be messaging with at least seven different people.
Buckle up!
