Two Hills Up

Last night, The Great Cynic (I was going to write 'The Great Cy-Nik,' but would you have gotten it?) and his wife walked up the 260 stairs at Harry Street and went to one of these newfangled Obama Meetings, the idea of which is to get together with like-minded people and talk about the recovery plan and offer suggestions. It was held in the home of ex-neighbors, she the physician and he the architect, nice people even though (ATTENTION: SOUR GRAPES WARNING!) they used to live 'round the corner until they traded our hill for another one two hills higher.

A dozen people showed up, from all over the city. The really really interesting part about the meeting was this: nobody cares too much about the details of the recovery plan, but what everybody does want is to continue the exhilaration of the campaign, where we all felt personally involved and motivated, most of us for the first time in our adult lives. Obama has tapped into this deep well of desire, and maybe these meetings will serve as a conduit to funnel our energies into meaningful places.

Cy-Nik does not do meetings easily. He always finds something to niggle about, but last night even the person who felt weepy for the homeless did not bother him. The point was no matter what anyone's personal agenda, everyone took their time to show up for a 6pm meeting. This has to be encouraging.

A few more points of interest: nobody bashed Bush. Bush is so yesterday.

Republicans ate a little crow, but just a little, and not for their past but for their present intransigence.

Nobody ate the cheese or the crackers.

The view is a whole lot grander two hills up.