Wednesday, September 14, 2005

POLITICS, POLITICS and MORE POLITICS....

It's a warm muggy Wednesday morning and I am sitting in front of my computer, drinking my coffee and addressing you lot, while at the same time, half-listening to El Presidente address the U.N. Assembly on TV. As he is speaking, I can't help but to wonder about the state of politics as it reflects on the everyman like you and me. While I normally don't like to address the topic of politics on this site, I can't help but to wonder aloud about the attitudes we have when it comes to the issue of politics, specifically, voting. I bring this up because of a conversation I had with one of my friends from the bar yesterday (okay it was more of a text-messaging conversation, but a conversation nevertheless). I asked her if she had planned on voting yesterday and she said that she hadn't thought about it. I asked her why and she basically said why does it matter? The politicians won't do anything for us anyway and that they are all liars. Her vote won't matter because nothing will change. Now the "idealist" in me spoke up and chided her in her thinking, basically telling her that if everyone thought that way then nothing will change. I think that put her off a bit (she didn't respond after that), but I was also adamant about what I said. So after work (I only worked the day shift, specifically so that I could vote), as I approached the polling center at the elementary school in the neighborhood, I couldn't help but to think about what she said. Was it a waste of time to vote? Do these candidates really care about what I think or want? As I signed in and stepped into the booth, I found myself staring at the list of candidates for the various positions and stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, thinking about her words and my response. While looking at the past few years, some of what she said seemed to be true. What has changed? What have the politicians done for us lately? As I scratched my head in wonderment, my heart told me to do the right thing. It told me that I still have to believe in the system-that my vote will count for something, that it will matter. So I cast my ballot and walked out of the booth, hopeful that my heart was right; that I had done the right thing.... Only time will tell. ENOUGH OF THAT...

Yesterday afternoon, the bar was rather serene as I enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of banter and hi-jinx with a couple of the regulars, MR. TANQUERAY, THE POPE of MURRAY HILL and a surprise visit from ANGEL. The latter had never formally met the two guys, so it was appropriate that they finally meet. We rehashed the events of Sunday afternoon, filled in some gaps I may have missed out on and enjoyed the cool breeze of the AC, while watching everyone else sweat and toil outside while dealing with the ongoing snarl of the gridlock traffic. Later in the afternoon, I got a visit from OLD BLUE, who actually had a friend join him for a few brews. Normally he keeps to himself, sharing his conversation with no one but himself; but this time, he had a lot of animation to him as he shared old times with his buddy (who looks a lot like the Skipper from Gilligan's Island). The bar didn't start filling up for Dollar Draft Madness until about 6pm, near the end of my shift. By then, I was more than ready to bolt the scene, do my duty and vote, and then tend to some personal business...

I am once again holding down the fort this afternoon before making way for MR. BAGPIPES himself. It's IPOD NIGHT, so if you have an IPOD and want to share your musical tastes, drop by, sign up for a time slot and spin those tunes. We also have $3 HEINEKEN/AMSTEL LIGHT DRAFTS all night long, as well as $5 MIXED WELL DRINKS for the ladies, so there's something for everyone.

Try to stay cool and I'll be back tomorrow! HOLLA!

NUFF SAID