"Dreams, or at least the dreams worth dreaming, are always daring. History, or at least the history worth making, is always demanding. So let us dare to seize history and to shape it, that those who come after us will find that we met the demands of our time with courage, with grace, and with love." - Jon Meacham
Well, St. Patrick's Day has come and gone (except for the decorations at my house - they'll come down and Easter decs will go up this weekend), and about the only thing I can say is that I survived. As you probably know, St. Pat's is THE holiday in Savannah. Businesses downtown shut down, schools close, and people start tailgating at 6 am in the middle of the week. Last year was my first St. Pat's here and it is truly something you have to experience to appreciate. Forget green beer; we've got green grits. The newspaper on St. Patrick's Day is dyed green. Cute boys wander around in shamrock-embroidered pants and bagpipers randomly walk into bars playing "Oh Danny Boy". The party lasts much longer than one day, but for that one day, this town is the place to be. And once it's over, you can always wander past the window on Liberty Street and see the clock already counting down to next year.
This weekend I headed home for Dad's birthday. Saturday was a beautiful day, and Mom and I had a great time wandering around the Winter Park Art Festival. Always one of my favorite weekends of the year - especially when there's good weather! Sunday we weren't quite so lucky. We headed out to Disney for the Braves/Cardinals spring training game, but the game was called after an inning and a half due to deluge. Despite a rained out ball game, it was a great weekend to be home. Happy Birthday Dad!
Finally, a few thoughts on the history that was made Sunday night by the 111th Congress. I know that most of you out there in the blogosphere don't agree with the legislation. But I must say, I feel immeasurable joy. I truly believe that you look at the healthcare debate differently if you are personally impacted by it. I have family members that are some of the hardest workers I know, but work for small businesses that can't afford to provide subsidized coverage. There are members of my family that, prior to the passage of this legislation, would have been excluded from coverage due to pre-existing conditions. What this bill means to me is that, if heaven forbid, any of my friends' children were to be diagnosed with a disease, they could not be denied coverage. What it means to me is that if I, or any friend of mine, wants to switch jobs, we can do so without the fear of not being able to get coverage in the future. What it means to me is that, for once, our country is living up to the better angels of our nature. Is it perfect legislation? No. Does it solve all of our problems? No. But it's a start.
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