Mr. Garner Goes To Washington

It began late last night. Shock, disbelief, anger, and grief. My Twitter and Facebook feeds began to try and capture many stunned emotions. Even my Instagram and Snapchat feeds began to showcase the dismay. Of course, all the feeds contained the celebrations of many Trump supporters. Reflecting back to the 2012 election, I was curious what some tweets may have been at that time from Romney supporters. What would be the tone and would the verbiage be similar?  As Scripture says, "There is nothing new under the sun."

I doubt anything written by me will change anyone's mind regarding today's election. If you haven't already voted, your mind is likely made up. There's a slim to no chance of anyone influencing your decision. But I hope that decision is to vote. Not voting is not an option. Some people think their vote won't count, their vote won't make a difference, the election has already been decided or is rigged, or neither candidate deserves their vote. In 2012, Obama only won the popular vote by 5 million. Far more than that didn't bother to cast a vote that day. Again, not voting today is not an option. 

Driving one Sunday morning, I came over a hill and repeated the same reaction I have with seeing any antique vehicle. An instant peace falls over me, regardless of my stress or distractions. This is immediately accompanied by a deep inhale and exhale and a sigh of contentment that's made me wonder if I belong in another time.

My daughter was waiting outside for me to take her to school. As I locked up the house, she walked over to the passenger door of our new Honda. Approaching her, I knew something was wrong in the way she was staring into the car. As I came beside her, it appeared someone had broken into the vehicle. The passenger seat was covered with papers of various colors and sizes. It appeared to be trash, and none of which came from the car. I scanned the exterior body and went to the drivers door. No broken glass, no damage.

I have received many surprising texts but none compare to picking up my phone and reading the sentence "The school is on Lockdown." On the afternoon of May 6, 2016, that text came across my and my wife's phones. Our daughter had just learned that her school was on lockdown and texted us with her iPad.

It's "just a car." That's an easy phrase for me to say when having to depart with a vehicle and trying not to feel bummed. Perhaps I'm also trying to distance myself from seeming materialistic and putting forth the acknowledgment that this is after all a hunk of mostly metal and plastic. It's also an attempt to put into perspective that my family has another vehicle and there are many people less fortunate.  However, I'm fairly confident we're all attached to our vehicles. Some of us more so than others.

I stumbled across this video clip and this is why I love the internet! I never know on any given day what morsel of wisdom, encouragement, hilarity, or entertainment will be found. This clip is from Angel-A, a French fantasy romantic drama film. What's unique about this video is that a man is being forced to examine himself and see his value. This something I think most people, especially guys, have difficulty doing.