I just watched a video on YouTube, and I re-remembered a conversation I had with my brother Jimmy.
In 2008, I had gone home for Thanksgiving. I remember my sister Mary Ann telling me that Jimmy had specifically requested that I drive him and Mercedes to my brother Sammy's house for our Thanksgiving get-together. I did and we spent much of the day with one another.
The 20-minute drive was mostly quiet. We drove through the countryside taking a road north of Roscoe along a highway lined with hundreds of windmills. At one point, while Jimmy stared out the window, he said, "This is good. It's about time that these poor farmers came out on top."
We arrived at my brother's house and family was bustling around. Jimmy sat quietly taking it all in.
We left that evening and attended church together. After church, we went to Wal-Mart and bought some candy for Mercedes and some flowers for mom.
We returned to Sammy's house and enjoyed the company. Some watched football; we ate; some laughed; we took family pictures.
As the evening came to a close, I recall sitting on the porch with Jimmy and my sister Helen and we started talking about Obama, whispering because, well, Obama wasn't the choice for most of my family. I don't remember if my sister Helen remembers this or not, but Jimmy said he had voted for Obama because he felt that he would make an impact on the kids that needed it most --- the underprivileged. (Some readers don't know this about Jimmy, but he spent most of his life working with juvenile delinquents. He always championed for the oppressed.)
I knew he had voted for him without him telling me as much. I knew what Jimmy meant, and if one hasn't worked with troubled kids, it would be hard to understand his point.
I just finished watching the video again and it put a smile on my face to know that Jimmy was right. It's perhaps a silly reason to vote for someone, but it's my silly reason.
I will vote for Obama again.
* My brother Jimmy died of cancer the day before Obama was inaugurated into office.
In 2008, I had gone home for Thanksgiving. I remember my sister Mary Ann telling me that Jimmy had specifically requested that I drive him and Mercedes to my brother Sammy's house for our Thanksgiving get-together. I did and we spent much of the day with one another.
The 20-minute drive was mostly quiet. We drove through the countryside taking a road north of Roscoe along a highway lined with hundreds of windmills. At one point, while Jimmy stared out the window, he said, "This is good. It's about time that these poor farmers came out on top."
We arrived at my brother's house and family was bustling around. Jimmy sat quietly taking it all in.
We left that evening and attended church together. After church, we went to Wal-Mart and bought some candy for Mercedes and some flowers for mom.
 |
| Family Picture 11/08 |
As the evening came to a close, I recall sitting on the porch with Jimmy and my sister Helen and we started talking about Obama, whispering because, well, Obama wasn't the choice for most of my family. I don't remember if my sister Helen remembers this or not, but Jimmy said he had voted for Obama because he felt that he would make an impact on the kids that needed it most --- the underprivileged. (Some readers don't know this about Jimmy, but he spent most of his life working with juvenile delinquents. He always championed for the oppressed.)
I knew he had voted for him without him telling me as much. I knew what Jimmy meant, and if one hasn't worked with troubled kids, it would be hard to understand his point.
I just finished watching the video again and it put a smile on my face to know that Jimmy was right. It's perhaps a silly reason to vote for someone, but it's my silly reason.
I will vote for Obama again.
* My brother Jimmy died of cancer the day before Obama was inaugurated into office.
No comments:
Post a Comment