A conversation with my Mom

 

Ken made it home safe and sound last night! (If you recall, he was in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.) He brought me some saskatoon berry vinaigrette! Isn't he sweet? I'm looking forward to trying it, although he says it was a little sweet for his taste. I'll go easy on it.

Well, tomorrow is our primary here in Indiana (as well as North Carolina). Early voting has been going on for a couple of weeks now, and apparently the lines at the County-City Building this morning were quite long. My Mom called a little while ago, and they voted this morning.

Me: So...can I ask? Who did you vote for?

Mom: [laughs] I voted for Obama. Your Dad voted for Hillary!

Dad: [In the background, mock exasperatedly] Oh, I did not!

Mom: [laughs]

Mom went on to tell me about a conversation she had with my niece about Obama. My niece said, "Grandma, he's a Muslim!" I think my reaction went something like, "ARRRGH!" and I said, "He is NOT a Muslim." Mom said, "What is he?" (She has apparently not bought the propaganda that's been circulating.) I said, "He's a Christian." She said, "Oh, okay!"

I won't go into this at length, but let me just say that a lot of people might want to consider taking a page from my Mom's playbook. She's 79 years old, she's conservative, she's a Christian, but she also has taken the time to LISTEN to Obama, and she likes what she hears. She appreciates his intelligence and honesty, and when my niece mentioned something about how she heard that Obama won't say the Pledge of Allegiance, my Mom told her, "That's not true. I watched him the other day say that he's been saying the Pledge of Allegiance since he was 3 years old!" She has also said that she thinks it's been a while since anyone did a really good job in the White House, so maybe we all need a change.

My advice is simply to do some research and find out for yourself what is truth and what is falsity. Don't take all those "forwards" you get as gospel truth--frankly, most of them, whether political or not, are nothing but crap. Go to Snopes and search for Barack Obama and you'll find all those forwards you've gotten, and more, and you'll find commentary on the accuracy. I saw a couple that were quite funny, including the one that says the KKK is endorsing Obama, because "anything is better than Hillary." This was taken from a British satire newspaper and circulated as a true story. Or the satiric columnist who quoted Obama as saying that "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" would be a better national anthem--again, circulated as a true story. Note that word "satire," because it seems that a lot of people are missing that!

Mom also told me that my niece said to not bring up Obama around her parents. (One of my sisters and her husband.) I haven't talked to my sister about any of it, but like Mom said, she doubts that Susie is as anti-Obama as my niece seemed to imply.

Me: Hmmm. At the next family get-together, I just might have to wear my Obama T-shirt!

Mom: [laughing]

Me.: You know, stir the pot a bit!

Mom: [still laughing] Oh, Honey!

Of course, my family knows me well, and it wouldn't be the first time I've "stirred the pot." They know I'm not afraid to speak my mind, and I suspect that behind my back, they often call me "feisty." As in, "That Beth Anne, she can be a feisty one!" Ha ha! They haven't disowned me yet.

Bottom line: no excuses. I don't know if I have any readers in North Carolina other than Sheria, but for all my Indiana family and friends, get out there tomorrow and vote! See ya there!

Tags: Barack Obama, voting