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Written by Greg Archer
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Wednesday, 05 November 2008 |
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I felt something in the air early Tuesday evening that I hadn't felt in quite some time--Hope.
And
so, armed with good thoughts, I began my election night wanderings with
a colleague at La Vida in Santa Cruz. Charmed by about a half-dozen
diners at the bar, the two of us sat and watched CNN on the
televisions. Obama was ahead, with 207 electoral votes, while McCain
was approaching 140. Somebody down on the other end of the bar--a nice
young fellow who obviously began drinking hours before--told the crowd
that he would buy a round of drinks to anyone who voted for McCain.
Nobody raised their hand.
About an hour later,
around 6:45 p.m., at a very-packed Cypress Lounge, the crowd's fervor
was contagious. Winding my way through the sea of happy people, I ran
into Mayor Ryan Coonerty, fresh off of his campaign for Santa Cruz City
Council. The force of the crowd separated us for a bit, so I found a
spot off to the side and kept turning my head to several of the
big-screen TVs in the lounge. To everybody's surprise, it appeared that
Obama was going to take Florida. While wild cheers permeated the
Cypress, my colleague and I indulged in some wine, took notice of the
huge victory cake from The Buttery and couldn't help noticing how many
kids were dashing about. I seemed to be leaving the same time Coonerty
was. When I asked the mayor how he was feeling at the moment--7:40
p.m.--he quipped: "I am dying for this thing to be over with." I could
only nod. Meanwhile, Coonerty dashed off to The Red nearby and I made
my way to Tampico on Pacific Avenue.
Things
seemed chill at the popular Mexican restaurant. Those sitting at the
bar had their eyes glued to the television set. Meanwhile, new Downtown
Association E.D., Chip, was prepping for a live feed with Community TV.
I sat and talked to Linda and Charlie at the bar. The couple from
Watsonville told me how much hope they had that Obama would take the
election. "My daughter's 16," Linda said. "She can't vote, but she's
helped other people to vote. She helped people register to vote today
and really made a difference. That's the difference I see between this
election and the last--the young people are really getting involved!"
About
15 minutes later, the entire bar broke out in cheers. I turned to the
big screen TV--Obama won! Chip asked me what was going on and with
broad grins, we high-fived Obama's victory. I hugged Linda and Charlie
and was struck with a thought: I never thought I'd smell salsa when the
BIG news came. Minutes later, McCain came onto the screen and gave his
speech. Outside, on Pacific Avenue, crowds had gathered and a wild wave
of enthusiasm flooded the thorougfare. Sydney at Pizza My Heart hadn't
heard the news, so I told her what just happened. She smiled. She asked
me about Prop 8. I hadn't heard anything yet so I phoned a friend who
was watching everything unfold at home. I gushed over the news of Obama
but my friend was solemn for a moment. He told me it was still early,
but that a Yes on Prop 8 had already generated more than 50 percent of
the vote.
It was hard not to feel as if the storm clouds were suddenly thickening as I made my way to next outing ...
Here are some pictures of the Obama celebration on campus from UCSC student Marlena McClain:
See more of her photos at http://www.jpgmag.com/people/undifined .
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