The End of November

Well, it's almost here.  As with most of the months, I ask, "Where did November go?"  And, for the past week or so, I think I've seen the sun one day--and not all of that day.  I like the grays and browns, but only for a while, certainly not for three or four months.  Snow helps to fix that.

Our household is still trying to understand, although I'm sure nobody ever really does, how a 15-year old just ups and dies.  One of Michael's friends did just that on Sat.  Michael, of course, has been devastated.  He played football, baseball, and basketball with the guy, who seemed like a genuinely nice kid.  We're not entirely sure what happened, but the obituary read "health issue."  Michael said he was told "heart failure." And the kid just had to have had a physical for football!  It was particularly hard on Michael, who had been "Snap-Chatting" with his friend just before this happened.  A lot of tears have been shed since Saturday.

I was discussing the election the other day with someone and it dawned on me--what about Inauguration Day?  Like the election as a whole, I can't get my mind around a Don Trump inauguration.  Wow!  And those who know me know I don't mean that in a good way.  Will I be as devastated on Inauguration Day was I was on Election Day?  And even worse, I'd have felt the same way had Clinton won.

Speaking of Clinton, remember how she and her supporters attacked Trump for hesitating about accepting the results of the election, if he lost, of course?  Now who is not accepting the results?  I'm not sure who is exactly behind them, but there have been a number of requests for recounts.  Yes, in states like Michigan and Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the popular vote was close.  But any recount is extremely unlikely to make any difference.  Plus......

What is with Jill Stein leading the call for recounts, at least in Wisconsin?  What did she get, maybe 1% of the vote?  What difference will a recount for her mean, unless she is working for Clinton to get Trump "unelected."  It makes no sense otherwise.  There I go again, seeing conspiracy all over the place.

OK, this will be controversial, but so be it.  Will the recount take a close look at any illegal votes that were cast?  That is, will any noncitizens, unregistered voters, or even dead people have their "votes" examined--closely?  No, I have no evidence that much of this happened or that any of it happened.  I'm not so naive, though, to believe it didn't, at least to some minor extent.  It's not like it hasn't happened before.  And I heard the Detroit clerk say the day before the election, in effect, nobody would be challenged for voting.  If a person had no ID, he/she would merely be asked to sign an affidavit affirming, "I am me."  That should quell any concerns about fraudulent voting.

There's more, but papers/essays are calling me for grading.  I'll save the other topics for later in the week.  Pray for Michael's friend and his family.