Crickets

I fell asleep last night to the sound of a cricket chirping. I pictured in my mind the warm nights of summer, windows open, and a cool breeze. In reality, it's January, about 30 degrees, trees are bare and the landscape is grey, and spring is too far away. The cricket I'm hearing is one of about 20 we are keeping to feed the frog, Flower, that Erica got for Christmas.



Listening to Barack Obama's speech, I feel the same as when I hear the cricket chirp. I want to feel the warmth of summer, see new life breaking through the cold ground, to see a glimmer of hope that things are on the way up.



Can one man change the system in place, the system of the old boys and the way things have always been done?



An excerpt from Obama's speech:

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."




In the quiet living room of my home, I watch this momentous occasion, and am, as times before, filled with hope, and I speak out loud through tears to our new president to do what he promises, to be the change he calls for, to make a difference. I hope beyond all hope that he does not fall into the black hole of Washington and go along to get along. I did not vote for him, but I will accept him as our leader, provided he has the integrity that we all desire to exist in politics. Please, Mr Obama, be the change for us all, white as well as black, that takes us forward, a strong, proud, patriotic nation.