America the beautiful

I can't speak for everyone, but I know I slept much better last night. I didn't wake up this morning worrying about the world, as I had been waking up every morning the last few months, thinking that a Republican who viewed women as chattel; was sure to make piss-poor Supreme Court nominations; would give permission to a coalition that favored the Chrisitian right, their no-government-is-good-government breathren, and the faceless corporate mob to seize public policy; fuck mother earth with drills and pipelines from here to kingdom come; belonged to not only one, but two cults (Mormon & Republican); and who chose a myopic half-wit to run as his V-P, might be elected President of the USA.

I don't like to lose but I'm happy to have lost the bet I had with Mary Risley that Mitt Romney would be President. It wasn't that I wanted Mitt Romney to win, it's that I believed he couldn't lose given the political composition of the country and its proven predilection for electing the wrong man.

I'm so happy I was wrong and that the country was right, by whatever thin margin it turned out to be.

Even Fox News made me happy last night. I admit it was sort of fun watching those faux journalists go from happy to sad right in front of my eyes; it was like watching a televised version of the grotesque, "The Temptation of St. Anthony" as painted by Matthias Grunwald or Hieronymous Bosch. Over on PBS, Gwen Ifill, a real journalist, seemed to be beaming with ever-increasing joy as the hours ticked by, but maybe I was just seeing things.

This morning, I wanted to see something beautiful that had nothing to do with human beings. There's a little lake in Wyoming I like to hike to. I like to think of it as my lake, having never seen anyone around. But I know it's not my lake, it belongs to everyone.