The Furious Spinner

We watched the debate.

But first, I made spaghetti sauce. This was the last day of the Mysteries, after all. We needed a feast. I chopped up a small yellow onion, then sauteed it in olive oil with sliced shitake mushrooms. Then I blended a can of skinned tomatoes and poured it into the onions and mushrooms. Yes, canned tomatoes. (Muir Glen Organic ground peeled tomatoes.) I like the taste and consistency of canned tomatoes in spaghetti sauce better than fresh. Sue me. Mario got home as I was finishing up so he put the spices in: about 2 tablespoons cumin, 1/2 teaspoon each of oregano and basil. We let the sauce simmer for about thirty minutes, but it can simmer as little or as long as you like. This is a quick, easy, and delicious recipe for spaghetti sauce.

While it cooked, I first talked with my father on the phone. I asked if he had taken his blood pressure and heart medicine. He said he wasn't sure he was going to watch the debates. He is so discouraged. Usually he just doesn't want to talk about it, but he said in his lifetime he had never seen the country this bad. This is a man in his seventies speaking, a man who lived through the Depression, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, McCarthy Era, Cold War, riots in the sixties, assassinations of King, JFK, and RFK, Watergate, Iran-Contra, etc. It's difficult to tell a man in his seventies that we'll just all join an underground resistance movement if Bush wins again.

Then I called my oldest sister. She and her husband were getting ready to watch the debates. I asked her if everyone she knew was registered to vote. She said they didn't talk about it at work. I think we have to talk about it. Everywhere. I believe silence implies agreement with the status quo and the status quo is George Bush. We don't have to preach, but we can ask the question, "Are you registered to vote?" If they say no, encourage them to register. (Of course it depends upon your state if there's still time. In most states there's still time if you go in in person.) On November 2, we can ask people if they remembered to vote.

After I got off the phone it was twenty minutes to the debates. Mario had boiled the pasta (rice spirals), and he served up the spaghetti. We turned on C-Span. If was very interesting because Jim Lehrer, the moderator, was instructing the audience on what they could and couldn't do. He told them they were not allowed to make a sound during the entire 90 minutes or else they were in big, big trouble. It was bizarre, but interesting—and we preferred listening to him rather than the talking heads on the other channels.

The debates began. I was so nervous I walked from room to room, eating my spaghetti. I had little hope that it would go well, but I was impressed. The debates had much more substance than I would have imagined, especially given the fact of the 32 pages of "rules of engagement" both sides agreed upon. Kerry did well, as he often does under pressure. Bush did well much of the time, too, although he stumbled and got off topic several times. I think his mind just goes away sometimes and he has to pause while he goes looking for it. I understand. That happens to me, too. It often happens to people suffering from post traumatic stress. What kind of post traumatic stress would he have? He seemed very angry at the beginning of the debate, then confused near the end. But I'm sure that won't be used against him. If people are truly undecided it seems to me they would have to believe Kerry did a better job in the debates. Now whether that translates into votes, who knows?

When the debate still had thirty minutes to go, we ate our soy ice cream. I had chocolate. Mario had vanilla. This means I will probably be up all night, but it was delicious. After the debates were over, we watched The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. They weren't as astute as they usually are. But then I'm not feeling as astute as I...often can be. Must be the chocolate. It was worth it.

I hope you all were able to view the debates without listening to the talking heads tell you what you just saw. Last election, Gore supposedly won the first debate but the Republicans spinners spun it so that he lost. So don't let "them" tell you what you believe.

Sleepy. Talk to you on the morrow.

All photographs and written material copyright © 2003-2008 by Kim Antieau unless otherwise indicated. May not be used without permission.