Pride

I was told that I have every reason to gloat because approx. 1 year and 3 months ago I made a prediction that came true on November 4th. I am so proud to be an American right now. I know that Michelle Obama caught a lot of flack about saying for the first time in her life that she was proud to be an American but I totally get what she was saying. I've always been proud, thankful, grateful, etc to be an American but I've not necessarily been proud of America. Is that a contradiction? Today I am so very proud, inspired and HOPEFUL.

When I made that prediction last year, we had just come from seeing Senator Obama speak to a packed house in Lexington, KY. I remember a couple of things very vividly. First, the vibe of the crowd was absolutely palpable and when they begin to play U2's "Beautiful Day" the room felt alive with electricity. At that time in the campaign, Barack's opponents were trying to spoil his reputation by discrediting his ideas for hope & change. During Barack's 45 minute speech, he referenced that and said something to the effect of, "they're calling me a hopemonger, like that's a bad thing." Of course, the greatest thing about that day was that I had the chance to shake Barack Obama's hand. He looked me straight in the eye and said, "thank you for coming out today." Poor Jeragano took an elbow to the chest from a Secret Service Agent, but that same Agent pushed me up to the front to get my handshake. I was shaking after it was over. Honestly, I had felt like I'd met Mick Jagger or something. People hate to hear it, but it was like meeting a rock star. He just has that "it" factor.

So yeah, I'm a hopemonger and today I'm proud. I heard it straight from a great man's lips..its not like its a bad thing.