I Heart NY

Woo-hoo! The Giants won! I'm excited, and I don't even like football. In fact, I didn't even watch the game really. Larry and I went out to dinner last night (when my best friend heard our plans, she said, "Well, at least it won't be crowded..."); but our table (and, yes, we were the only ones in the dining area, as a matter of fact) was near the bar with the big screen TV's, so we were sort of able to tell when someone made a touchdown (from the cheering). Does that count?

I fell asleep (no, not at the restaurant) before the game was even over; Larry told me the news this morning. The only reason I care is because he's from the Boston area, originally, and I'm from the New York area. So we frequently argue over who is better, those stuck-up Beantowners or the salt-of-the-earth New Yorkers...

I think I'll stop now, before I alienate anyone else. If you folks want to hear from a true Patriots' fan (as in, she actually follows the game), head on over to Amy's place.

Anyway, we went out to dinner to discuss how much of Larry's hard-earned money I plan to spend this year on those rugrats we call our children. Then we discussed just sending them all out to work, like in the good old days of Charles Dickens. Suffice it to say, I managed to polish off our sizeable tax refund in, oh, about 15 minutes (it would have been faster, but I ate some chips and guacamole while I was writing out the budget). Our waitress must have thought we were real romantics, sitting there with pad and pen and calculator, arguing over extracurricular activities. Ah, old married love....just makes your heart beat faster, doesn't it?

When we weren't discussing the budget, we were discussing politics (I told you we are a lot of fun, didn't I?). But it's just so exciting to think that Americans may just have a choice this November between 2 decent candidates, it's hard not to talk about it. I realized this morning that by the next Presidential election, 2 of my children will actually be voting. In fact, I think I realized that around the same time I realized that the gray hairs are multiplying at an exponential rate on my head....

Where was I? Oh, yes, voting...so now I actually have to sound intelligent when I discuss the candidates with Anna and Theo, rather than muttering something about "voting the bastards out." And I do like giving them a balanced view of why reasonable people would vote for either candidate, rather than demonizing half the voting population of the United States as many of our revered, um, statesmen are wont to do. I'm an unrepentant centrist, I am....

I also take great pains to explain to the teens that any candidate winning by a 3 or 4 percent margin, does not, by any stretch of the imagination, possess a mandate. 3 or 4 percent in a country the size of ours is barely statistically significant. Instead, the winner needs to reach out to the almost 50 percent (that's half, for you math-challenged) of the voters who did not elect him/her, so they do not feel alienated and unheard. The winner-take-all mentality exhibited by certain politicians on both sides of the red/blue divide is not a healthy one for any country.

Oh, gosh, it's gonna be a fun year, no?

I guess I'm feeling a little optimistic today. I mean, if New York can triumph over undefeated Boston in the Super Bowl, perhaps there is a teeny chance for Americans to agree on how to achieve health care for all, an unplundered environment, an end to the war in Iraq, and an economy that isn't going right down the toilet. One can always hope...