Texas Book Festival y mas!

I got up very early Saturday morning and went, along with Baby Guanaco and DM (of Dogblog!), to stand in line to get a wristband to be one of 250 people to hear Senator Barack Obama speak at the capital later that morning. We arrived at 6:30am and got in a surprisingly short line. We quickly found out we were in the wrong line. Damn.

We walked to the other side of the tent and got behind the 100 or so people who had apparently gotten up even earlier than we did (which was 5am, by the way). We huddled in the chill morning air for 2 1/2 hours, ran into an old friend (Kari), and finally got our wristbands a little after 8am. We walked 10 blocks south to score some of the best Mexican food in the city. Later Mel-a-rific and Abbe joined us on our trek back to the capital and we got in yet another line.

Molly Ivins(!) and her posse cut in front of us in line (who were we to say no?) and we had to pass the crankiest cop ever to get into The House Gallery, but once we did the excitement and anticipation were palpable. We found seats at the far end which put us to the left of the podium giving us great views of the side of the Senator's head.

There were a few awards given out beforehand, one to the author of Holes, and another to the editorial team of Texas Monthly. Finally, it was time: the Senator came out and the crowd went crazy! After a nice introduction, he took the stage and motioned for us to sit down and stop clapping. After about a minute and a half, we did.

He spoke eloquently about how regular Americans have been left out of the political process in favor of big corporations, how we all generally want the same things (healthcare, good environment, education, etc) despite our feelings on certain issues, and how there is reason for hope.

As some of you may know, last week was the latest of quite a few where I've been contemplating hopelessness, the existence of God, and whether or not I have reason to have faith in anything (religion, politics, science...). It's been a tough time. I must say that the Senator's brief speech (he only spoke for 20 minutes) did make me smile. His words of understanding, compassion, and hope were sincere. (Imagine Bill Clinton sans sleeze and if he was actually black.) Obama has the power to uplift and inspire. I feel this talent will serve him well in the coming years.

My existential crisis hasn't gone away; however, I don't feel completely lost anymore. The world is not black and white. It never was nor will it ever be. Not everyone in Washington is there to screw over the little guy (me and you). Not everyone in Washington is fake. The big problem we face is the fact that the sincere public servants aren't the ones in power.

We also saw Amy Sedaris that afternoon promoting her new book on hospitality. What a riot! She showed us how to make brownies and delighted with her humor. After that we headed home for a good long nap. Saturday's events plus the time change have put me in a right pleasant mood.