Let Us Eat Cupcakes

The migraine that crushed me like an avalanche is gone.  I have Obama to thank.  Why? Oh, no reason really.  I just want to thank him.  And lick him.  And possibly rummage through Michelle’s closet while she’s occupied in today’s festivities.  Today is a joyous, momentous, and historic occasion, and yet…And yet I cannot fail to think about those who died to make this day possible and those who died before this day was possible. Leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy, and every day heroes like my grandmother.  I think about my students who have never heard of the Montgomery Bus Boycott whine about a thirty minute subway ride to school.  I think of six-year old Ruby Bridges in her plaid dress and bow in her hair praying for the mobs that spewed hatred at her as she made her way into school.  And then I think of my students who will skip class because someone happens to be wearing the same shirt that they are wearing that day.  But I am optimistic that the import of this event for human rights and for righting the path of our country will get through to them.

I want to ride this wave of optimism and hope.  Doesn’t everyone?  Especially Pepsi – oh, come on, you can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed the new Pepsi logo.  It seems that while banks are tanking and the American automotive industry is running out of gas the food industry is booming.  Cupcakes, pies, and anything that can be slathered, frosted, or concocted with a red, white, and blue Obama image is flying off the shelves.  Even blue cheese has had a resurgence – although I think the stink is supposed to remind us of the eight years we are leaving behind.  I, for one, have done my part.  Mr. Dingo and I made cookies last night.  I didn’t have any Obama iconography to put on top of the cookies but I did use chocolate chips.  I hope that counts.

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