You know what? The sun rose this morning. The Earth continued on its orbit around the sun. There were cars on the street. People were going about their business. CNN, MSNBC, et al. were still broadcasting the news. My daughter got up and went to school. My son woke up early in the morning with his trademark “feed me” cry. I still love my wife as much as ever.

Why then am I grasping at emotional straws this morning?

It turns out I’m not (well not anymore anyway), and it’s funny how life can work out for you like that. You see, there are still so many ways we can all make a difference, and I’m not just talking about politics. I’m talking about life. I came in to work feeling like a redistricted Texas Democrat on inauguration day. Then I got a phone call from a young person in need of a little help. I’ve never got a whole lot of personality to spare, and the situation was critical this morning, but I somehow scraped some together – and I helped this person. I could sense the change in tone on the other end of the line. It may have been trivial, heck – it may not have been all that helpful, but it only took a few minutes of my time. Now imagine all of those brief moments put together. Imagine what the cumulative effect could be.

Things may not always break your way, but never doubt that you can make a difference. You have that opportunity every moment of every day. Maybe you already knew this, but I needed some reminding this morning. If I’ve reminded even one person (myself included) then this entry is worth while.

Well folks, it’s been a long night. Like many of the other candidates for elected office this evening, I’ve been sitting by the television sweating out the election results. But, after a long evening, after months of work and countless hours of effort, victory is mine. By a unanimous 1-0 vote (mine ultimately being the only vote that counts), I have won another term as speaker of the house. There are so many people out there to thank, it’s hard to pick a place to begin, but I think I should start with my opponents. First, my son Adam, God bless him; I’m sure he will make a wonderful speaker one day, but he’s clearly not ready for the job. My daughter Beth; she really came on strong this year, but she’s still a few years off. Then there’s Cheryl. What can I say about Cheryl? She’s been the glue for this family all year. Without her, half of us would not be here today. It was really a tough decision, but in the end it came down to a matter of good old-fashioned “know how” and she just doesn’t know how to update this site. Is it my fault she doesn’t know how? Sure, you could say I’ve withheld the proper instruction – and you would be right, so lets move on. I’d also like to thank the hard working, creative men and women of Apple Computer, without whose efforts this web site would still be possible, but not quite as much fun.

I would thank my faithful readers, but there aren’t very many of you – and if I were doing this to garner the attention of scores of readers I’d have given up by now.

If you detect a somber note to what should be a reason for celebration, then your perceptions are keen. As you know, there are other elections being decided tonight, and being a liberal is beginning to feel a little lonely. (Thank goodness my constituency as speaker is so small.) I’m a sore looser, so I won’t linger on the topic of the other elections right now.

Pessimism and good humor don’t often go out for drinks together, and tonight is obviously no exception.