Farewell...And Almost Farewell
"I can't believe you're watching him," my wife said as I settled in to watch W's farewell speech last night.
Yet I was thinking that I would see a real human moment - a moment when, while walking away, the guard would come down and perhaps the guy everyone wanted to drink a beer with, would cop to the problems that we were having, and overcome by sadness, he would try and make amends.
Instead, it was a canned speech that, if you weren't paying attention, you'd think that the two presidential terms just completed were the greatest ever. We've brought Democracy to the world, we've handled the AIDS epidemic, we fought back the terrorists, economically we've made sound decisions, torture is necessary.... blah, blah... blah - I didn't see a human moment, just more arrogance, fear-mongering, and that stupid smirk that appears on his face every time he gets a complete sentence out.
"What did you think?" my wife asked when it was over.
"Well it would be like me saying - we're broke, our neighbors hate us, the dogs want out, the roof leaks and it's raining, but at least our house only got broken into once - and it hasn't happened in eight years - Thank God I've been such a good leader."
As a good friend of mine said, "Bush did one thing - he united the country like no other leader has."
"What? Are you kidding me?" I argued.
"We're united," he said. "We all hate him."
Farewell.
Now the almost farewell - a co-worker and I met in downtown Buffalo and crossed Chippewa to go to a restaurant for lunch - it was so cold out that we never stopped to greet each other, and we were walking fast through the intersection. Two steps slower and we would have both died. Just after stepping onto the curb, a SUV came around the corner and moving quickly, smashed into two parked cars - three feet from where we were standing. I believe I said, "Holy shit, Batman," and my buddy actually squealed.
There was a mother behind the wheel and three kids in the backseat - thankfully no one was hurt.
"Two seconds difference between life and death," my buddy said.
I was so upset I almost didn't finish my 2nd Burrito.
Almost farewell.
Yet I was thinking that I would see a real human moment - a moment when, while walking away, the guard would come down and perhaps the guy everyone wanted to drink a beer with, would cop to the problems that we were having, and overcome by sadness, he would try and make amends.
Instead, it was a canned speech that, if you weren't paying attention, you'd think that the two presidential terms just completed were the greatest ever. We've brought Democracy to the world, we've handled the AIDS epidemic, we fought back the terrorists, economically we've made sound decisions, torture is necessary.... blah, blah... blah - I didn't see a human moment, just more arrogance, fear-mongering, and that stupid smirk that appears on his face every time he gets a complete sentence out.
"What did you think?" my wife asked when it was over.
"Well it would be like me saying - we're broke, our neighbors hate us, the dogs want out, the roof leaks and it's raining, but at least our house only got broken into once - and it hasn't happened in eight years - Thank God I've been such a good leader."
As a good friend of mine said, "Bush did one thing - he united the country like no other leader has."
"What? Are you kidding me?" I argued.
"We're united," he said. "We all hate him."
Farewell.
Now the almost farewell - a co-worker and I met in downtown Buffalo and crossed Chippewa to go to a restaurant for lunch - it was so cold out that we never stopped to greet each other, and we were walking fast through the intersection. Two steps slower and we would have both died. Just after stepping onto the curb, a SUV came around the corner and moving quickly, smashed into two parked cars - three feet from where we were standing. I believe I said, "Holy shit, Batman," and my buddy actually squealed.
There was a mother behind the wheel and three kids in the backseat - thankfully no one was hurt.
"Two seconds difference between life and death," my buddy said.
I was so upset I almost didn't finish my 2nd Burrito.
Almost farewell.
Comments
I sure am glad you got to eat those burritos, brother.