A Cool Night for a Cool View

Gracie in front of Rockefeller Center.

Yesterday was Grace's last day in the city before heading back to El Paso, and the awesomeness that is Fort Bliss.  So we went out for dinner (Chinese) and then headed over to Rockefeller Center to go to the Top of the Rock.  The view of the skyline was crisp, and we enjoyed looking out on the city's buildings all lit up.


NYC Skyline looking south from the Top of the Rock.

Gosh I had a fun time with Grace, and I was sad to see her go this morning (at 4:30am!).  Later this year, just around Christmas, she's going to deploy to Afghanistan and serve there as a member of a Female Engagement Team.  I'm very proud of her, and what she's going to do to serve our country, but at the same time scared because she is after all "going to war".  I know she's a strong woman, and has a good team, other good service members working alongside her.  I'm sure she will be fine, and will come back 10 months from now and visit us again in NYC - and we'll be celebrating her sucessfull tour of duty....

Thanks Gracieface for coming to visit! and thanks for all you are going to be doing on your epic journey to come!

Election Night Electricity

Rockefeller Plaza decked out for Election Night




Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Center Plaza


Brian Williams reporting live.

Yesterday Felipe, Grace and I went to Rockefeller Center for a visit to the Top of the Rock on Grace's last night, and got to see the whole plaza decked out for the election tonight.  It's neat to see the pomp and circumstance surrounding election night!

My earliest election memory is seeing lawn signs for the presidential race in 1988 - of course really I think I remember it because I remember thinking how funny the name Dukakis was (I was seven year old, okay? ;) ).  And the memory of joining my dad while he placed his vote in the small theater at my elementary school.  How cool was it to see the booth, with the big levered handles to mark the ballot.  It made me excited to vote in my first election in 2000, and although there are moments where I sometimes feel disillusioned with the whole political process, I try not to let that get to me - God willing I have another 50-60 years of voting in political elections....

But before I get ahead of myself, I voted this evening after work, stopping in at Fiorello LaGuardia High School to cast my vote, and did not have to wait more than 15 minutes.  I've heard a lot of stories about people waiting one or two hours in line to vote, and I don't doubt it.  I haven't voted many times in my life, this is only my fourth presidential election, but I do recall waiting well over two hours to vote in the Kerry/Bush election of 2004, at the student center on my college campus.  And I remember then being able to feel the excitement, the electricity in the air - people were engaged, people were motivated to participate in their civic duty.  I imagine, and hope, that the people who had to wait in long lines today could feel that same electricity and excitement.

It's exciting to see the results coming in, and nerve wracking!  I am sure that everyone out there wants what they believe to be the best for this country, and I hope that all the officials elected this evening remember that they are serving the public...and that it's important to serve the whole country in all it's best interests, including working together with the opposing party.  We all want America to be a great country...let's work together the next four years and beyond to make sure it is that way.