What would you say...

After you lose someone special to you your life is split in half. Now memories of mine are when my father was alive and when he died. When I walked into the election booth on November 4th, I shed a tear. Not for the momentous event but because my Dad was not here to participate.

My father was not the most educated man but extremely intelligent. I remember when he was alive he spent hours watching the news and it would not be just one form of it. He often watched CNN and fox news. He wanted the news from all points of view. Everyday at 7:00 he would watch BBC news which we all know is the place you go if you want any truth in the news you are reporting. I remember back to earlier this year during the NYS primary. My mother and I had a long discussion with my Uncle Richard and Tantie Kathleen and we all agreed Hillary Clinton would be our candidate for president. I remember going to the polls that day, walking into the booth and freezing. I went in with every intention to vote for Hillary but I couldn't move. The minute I decided to vote for Obama I could feel the paralysis leave my body and I voted for him. I went home after leaving the polling station and said to my mom, "I know we were going to vote for Hillary but I couldn't do it. I voted for Obama." My mom laughed and said, "Me too." I know exactly how that convo would go with my dad and the smile he would give me when I told him what happened in the polling booth. He probably would have gone in to vote for Hillary but left voting for Obama.

In the days after our historic election of the first black president I watched all of the pundits and news shows. I watched several black leaders (Andrew Young, Vernon Jordan and Cynthia McKinney) on these shows and I was slightly comforted by the fact that we shared the same opinion. We all didn't support Obama at first because we didn't believe. We didn't believe it was possible. Up until election day I didn't believe this would happen. Andrew Young was asked would Martin Luther King Jr. believe there would a black president in his lifetime? Mr. Young responded, "Martin wouldn't have believed that I would be in Congress." This election has done so much for so many people and President elect Obama will continue to do for people.

I remember my dad telling me he when he first came to this country no one would rent to him in the part of New Jersey he worked in so he had to commute almost two hours from my Uncle Steve's in South Orange. That was the early 70s and now we have a black family moving into the house that we had to build as slaves.

I wonder Dad what would you say about this historic time in our life. He was able to say so much with so little words. I clearly take after my mother when it comes to expressing an opinion.