Making Progress Making Things

Things won are done;
joy's soul lies in the doing.
--William Shakespeare

So how are we all this week, after having clung for dear life to nonexistent safety bars and taken a seemingly never-ending ride on the E-ticket Presidential Rollercoaster in the extravagantly overwrought amusement park that is American Politics? (Baby-boomer Brownie points to those who know what E-ticket means; more kudos still to those who also use the term brownie points--ha!)

I imagine that my own emotions today--a mere week since I sat in the local Obama office, biting my nails and making last-minute reminder calls--are not all that different from those of anyone else who worried, watched, and wept last Tuesday.

Joy.

Relief.

A tiny bit of disbelief, given all that we've witnessed in elections past (especially in Florida).

Intense pride, given all the racist blather I'd seen, heard, and read these past two years, that America had elected a brilliant man to its highest office, based on the content of his character instead of the color of his skin.

A need to e-mail or call every single person to whom I've ranted about W et. al. over the past eight years and say something articulate and deeply intellectual like Woo-hoo! AIEEEE!  Can you believe it?  Oh my God, can you believe it?  YEAH!  YES WE CAN!

 
And this: a profound sense of disconnectedness mixed with the certainty that I must now get down to the business of creating things. While reflecting on my obsessive politics-following habits, I realized how little else I've written about, how little else I've created. There is a rack of vintage dresses that need altering or re-working, but for years I've been less than inspired, shall we say. There is an entire novel outline sitting on my hard-drive; there are several new-but-unopened recipe books piled up in the kitchen; there are literally hundreds of note-cards--each of which is inscribed with an idea (and sometimes several ideas) for poems, stories, and designs--lying in and around my desk.

Good grief, I must get busy. Where the hell have I been? Okay, other than the laundry room, I mean. And the car. And the pediatrician's office. And the grocery store. And, of course, the computer and the MSNBC.

President-elect Obama says we must once again become a nation that makes things.  And since I'm not an engineer, an architect, or an automobile designer, I'm going to interpret the word "make" as create, and the word "things" as meaning not only energy efficient cars and buildings,  but also literature, art, and music.

So, then, inspiration trumps relief, burnout, exhaustion, disbelief, and even euphoria (hey, we all know euphoria is a temporary gig, right? How much could we ever get done if we humans were euphoric all day, every day? Think of all the dancing shoes we'd be wearing out, one pair after another...). I am inspired to get my metaphorical ass in gear. I will finally learn Dreamweaver; I will at last learn to use my new camera; I will begin to tackle some of my vintage projects (maybe I'll photograph them!) and most of all, I will write.

Anyway, before I frighten myself with all these plans, I'd like to share a couple of favorite election night images you may have missed. Ezra posted the first one just as the election was called for Barack Obama; the second comes from a terribly cute website, Cats for Obama (H/T Lisa at Cogitamus).

So, how about you? Now that you can breathe (somewhat) more easily, secure in the knowledge that a smart, competent grownup will soon be running things, what sort of creative work will you dive into with wild (or even mild) abandon?

Comments

[kathy a.]

E-ticket! my sisters and i still use that phrase, because we remember how fast the E-tickets used to go at disneyland. couldn't give the A-tickets away, alas.

i really need to catch up on work. and lots of it.

[Lisa Simeone]

Lawdy, we were obviously on the same wavelength today. Lord Whimsy's creativity regularly puts me to shame.

[janinsanfran]

Damn, I'm still so tired from working on the thing that I don't know if I'll ever pop up again. Yet I also know, we're only beginning the next slog on that receding arc ...

[Sara]

I'm going to re-attempt to get back to work on a permanent basis next week, which has me very relieved, but not exactly happy.

[EyesOnTrends]

Interesting post and blog. Relevantly, many prominent experts and publications have pointed out that Obama is part of Generation Jones, born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and GenXers.
This link takes you to a page you may find interesting: it has, among other things, excerpts from publications like Newsweek and the New York Times, and videos with over 25 top pundits, all talking specifically about Obama’s identity as a GenJoneser:
http://www.generationjones.com/2008election.html

[Lisa Simeone]

Generation Jones???

Good grief, all the stuff I read, and I never came across this term until a few minutes ago. It makes sense, as I've never understood how I could be considered a Baby Boomer. Historically, Baby Boomers were those born between 1945 and 1955. Then suddenly, over the past few years, that time frame has steadily expanded. Suddenly even people born in the early to mid '60s were Baby Boomers. It didn't make sense. Well, now it turns out we're "Generation Jonesers." And the term was apparently coined way back in 2001! Who knew?

By the way, here's the first citation I could find:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/1370503/Generation-Jones-comes-of-age-in-time-for-election.html

[Lisa Simeone]

Oops. Just found a citation that goes back to 1999.

But so far, not a single person I've asked has ever heard of it. Deborah? Sir C?

[kathy a.]

no, never heard of gen jones. and i was born in 1957, my youngest sib in 1965, so we are all from the relevant decade.

but then again, i never really felt like i needed that kind of label, or how useful that labelling is.

[Lisa Simeone]

I think this guy (Jonathan Pontell) just has a good marketing thing going.

[litbrit]

I've never heard of Gen. Jones either, though like Obama, I am squarely in the middle of it (born October 1960, Year of the Rat!)

Interesting.

[Sir Charles]

I would be smack dab in the middle of Generation Jones --born 1960 -- if I had actually ever heard the term.

But I like it -- I always hated the fucking baby boomers. They got all the glory -- we got Whip Inflation Now.

[has_te]

Where the hell have I been?

F*ckin' terrrified! is where you bin... Like all of us.

Nicer now, just nicer.

So, bless us every one.

[So -OT- what's like, pre-1940? ....
Oh?.... Pre-every-bloody thing-ever?
Well!]

[Voice o' Reason]

I thought I was part of the "Me Generation."

I continue to act as if I were, anyway.

I don't care. Obama won!

Yee-hah.