Election Cacophony
I’ve come to question the importance of everything I read or hear during the final two weeks of an election. Polls. Attitudes. Commercial – everything associated with an election. As far as I’m concerned it is all noise – and attempts at distinguishing the signal from that noise is futile.
So instead I pretty much shut down. I know how I will vote, but I don’t know how the rest of the country – let alone my state – will. Worrying about or hoping for any particular outcome is just pointless.
So instead I ignore the signs, the commercials and pretty much the entire election-related media. There’s just the waning days of October, long walks with the dog, house chores, checking the Kid’s homework, making sure the pond is winterized.
A long winter is ahead. It’s coming, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. All I can do is make sure the water level is okay and an airstone is set to keep the pond from completely freezing over. The koi are already moving sluggishly, but still make the half-nod towards the surface whenever I get near. They seem to know that food might be tempting right now, but it would kill them later since undigested food would damage their gut while hibernating. The frog still plops back into the pond when the dog scares it at night, but I suspect that pretty soon that will stop as it finds a safe spot in the mud lining the pond.
The roses are still blooming and will continue to do so until they are covered in frost and snow. There’s not a Japanese beetle in sight – proof that in the end the roses will outlast them.
There’s a beauty in all of this that I find sublime. Seasons pass – whether of the Autumnal or of the Election variety.
ligneus:
Hey, you’re making me feel cold already!
24 October 2006, 5:46 pmThere’s a song by Canadian singer/songwriter Jane Siberry called simply ‘Hockey’, about a bunch of kids playing hockey on a frozen river that gives that same wintery feeling.