Burying the Hatchet, Delaware Style

Delaware has a great tradition that the rest of the country might do well to emulate. On Return Day, two days after the election, all candidates from the election ride together -- winners and losers -- to The Circle in Georgetown (in Sussex County, one of our three, the other two being Kent and New Castle). Traditionally, the candidates ride in carriages and antique cars; this year. Once there, the town crier reads the election results from the courthouse balcony for all to hear. The ceremony is followed by all kinds of food, the main dish being roast ox sandwiches, given free to all who attend.

Return Day marks the official end of the election season. Since tradition decrees that winning and losing candidates be together for the symbolic burial of the hatchet, it's a way of saying, "Whew! Boy, am I glad that's over!" It's also a way for people to get their heads screwed back on straight and realize that our opponents are really just people like us and that it's time to put the campaigning and rhetoric behind us and get down to the work at hand.

The candidates may shake hands and smile and still dislike their political rivals, but here in Delaware, they still have to do it, and do it publicly.

Return Day seems to be a pretty good idea. "Small wonder" ... it's a Delaware idea.

Making History: Election 2008

As of right now, 6:39 p.m. EST, we have no idea how this election is going to turn out. (You may not be able to see it, but the electoral count above both candidates is 0.) I'll have to admit that I'm pretty excited to see how everything plays out.

I went to my polling place at about 7:15 this morning, and the line was out the door. Even though we were standing, shuffling forward a foot or so every few minutes, I didn't hear one grumble or complaint. In fact, everyone seemed very calm and not anxious about being late for work. One young woman was grinning ear to ear as she stepped behind the voting booth's curtains. I'm betting that this was her very first experience voting. It was really nice to see her enthusiasm.

The volunteers this year were pretty much younger than 50, in a huge change from previous elections. Then, the volunteers were all white-haired seniors. Interesting.

I'm an independent, but I find that I lean left ... really left. I've been surprised and pleased that my current employer, a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, has kept her political views and opinions to herself. In the past I've worked for someone who had no problem voicing personal, religious-based views of pretty sensitive topics, and her opinions were the polar opposite of mine. Uncomfortable doesn't quite describe it. I believe that people's religion, like their sex lives and income, should be absolutely private. It certainly has no place in the workplace. One of my friends is a devout Catholic, but you'd never know it, because she is very private about her beliefs. I respect that and I respect her ... and she respects me, too, I believe. (Correct me if I'm wrong -- you know who you are!)

Um, where was I? Oh, yeah. This is the last half hour before the media starts barking and frothing at the mouth over the election results. It's the calm before the storm, folks. Who knows what the next few hours will bring? We shall see.