Here are Cordelia and Sammie in their bed on our return journey to California. We left north central Texas at 6 pm and are just arriving in Amarillo at midnight. Tomorrow we hope to have a long day on the road, stopping in either Kingman, AZ or Barstow, CA. This time we plan on 2 nights on the road for this 24 hours of driving back to Los Angeles. We must get back no later than noon on Monday because we are going to a Leonard Cohen concert with daughter Liz and her boyfriend, Ron, on Monday evening. Plus we need to get back home so we can vote on Tuesday. En route to Amarillo this evening, we listened to This American Life with Ira Glass, whose program was devoted to the wide gap our country is experiencing between Republicans and Democrats. The program featured several people who had lost close relationships due to political differences, and then two men who had figured out how to honor each others’ opposing political opinions in order to maintain their long term friendship. I have several good friends who are Republicans. There have been moments over this campaign when we’ve had some tension. Still, we have backed off from trying to “convert” the other and instead tried to listen to each other’s thoughts and feelings. That has not been easy since there are so many hot button issues. Still, we have been respectful, recognizing that both sides are made up of Americans who love this country and want the best for our people. Miracle of miracles, we actually emerged from those conversations still friends. We even found places we agreed. No matter what the outcome of this election – and, of course, I have my preference – I hope we as a nation can put these partisan politics away and turn our attention to tackling the very real problems that affect all of us. I will do my part to stop and make an effort to really listen to those who have different political beliefs than I have. I hope you will, too.
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