A Different America

We recently had a couple of days off in Houston so I spent a good portion of one of those days just sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch or in bed just reading. It was unusual for me to spend that much concentrated time reading but it was a good thing to do on a day off.

In that time I read The Secret Life of Bees. I think this would be considered a book mostly that women would read since the men in it are almost all violent and not very nice, although there are a couple of exceptions. And because it is really a story about a girl and her need for a mother. So I was surprised that I got into it so quick. I've really gotten into learning about bees and keeping hives so that aspect also intrigued me. I was interested to see how the author would weave that into the story.

The story takes place at the moment in American history when African Americans are finally allowed to vote. I finished the book the morning after Obama was elected so I was really in an interesting head space for that day. I spent election day reading this book in which an African American woman is beat up because she wanted to register to vote. Then that night I see America elect its first non-white president.

I went for a run through the warm Houston suburbs shortly after I finished the book. It was Obama's first day as President Elect. Knowing that Barack would soon be the President here and having an idea of what has transpired over the past 40 years made me feel so happy anytime I passed African Americans. I wanted to celebrate with them. It truly feels like a different country.

So I obviously need to go and see the movie now since it is still in theaters. It's always fun to see the differences. - on a side note, Jonah watched James and the Giant Peach after we had read it to him. It was quite different. And much more scary. I don't know if he'll ever want to watch a book-turned-movie again!

This post will be my account to remember when I'm asked by my kids or grandkids, "What were you doing when Obama was elected?"

Special thanks to Rob and Kiki for taking such good care of us the last couple of days. Btw, Rob's brother is the current American Gladiator champion, how cool is that?? And we had a few fire trucks stop by the house while we were there. Check out Kiki's blog for details and pics.

GL

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