Today's the Day

I've been an Obama fan since he spoke at the 2004 DNC.

I saw him electrify the audience and I wistfully thought, "Wow, wouldn't it be awesome if this guy ran for prez one day? Someone dreaming the bigger dream? Yeah. Fat chance of that."

And when he announced he'd be running in '06, I thought, "Well, it'll make for interesting discussion points on the trail. Too bad he won't get far."

Then Iowa happened in January. I thought, "Fuck. Are you serious? Dude's got a chance? WHITE PEOPLE will vote for him in white America too? Maybe this is the time... Maybe this is the year we finally get leadership with vision, leadership with hope. Well, there's a chance at least..."

But I didn't think he could ultimately trump Hillary. And then her campaign took a seriously wrong turn, his caught fire, and it's looking like the rest is history.

Either way tonight, I'll be crying. My folks raised me to accept others, to never look at skin colour, to never judge people on appearances but instead who they are and what they offer. My father gave me history books on the Underground Railway used by slaves escaping to Canada when I was as young as 12.

I was told the story of the time my folks were looking for a way out of someplace in New York state back in the early '60s and my father tells me of when he walked into an all-black diner back then, oblivious, and asked where to go, and every mouth stopped flappin', every eye laid on him, and he said when he got outta there he'd never been so scared in his life.

But we never had that division in Canada. We never had the us-versus-them mentality be as prevalent as it is down south. It's always broken my heart to see the racial divide so great in America.

And now, here we are, at a turning point in the western world. An election that stands to change it all.

And in 12 hours we'll know who's won.

I'm so proud of America today, for taking the chance and embracing someone truly offering something different to the mix. What an exciting time to be alive... on a day when history is truly being written.

Some of us wait lifetimes for moments like these, and I'm enjoying this as best I can.