Post-election time at last!!

Finally, the day the media had been anticipating for a year and a half has come and gone. I logged a lovely 12-hour work day on Tuesday. But the madness was both Tuesday and Wednesday. See, on Tuesday, I went out to interview voters in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe about how they felt about the election, their vote for prez and marriage as being between a man and a woman. I spent like three and a half hours finding people to talk. You sometimes meet the quirkiest people on the street. In Tempe, I finally found someone who had voted for McCain. This 59-year-old independent voter proudly told me that he came out to vote despite his doctors telling him he had to stay home. See, he had undergone a "medical procedure" that morning and was sedated and stuff. At first he didn't want to tell me what the procedure was, which was fine. But then he took off his sunglasses and was like, "See? Don't I look lucid?" So, I asked if the procedure was something done on his eyes. That's when he just up and told me that he had undergone a colonoscopy(!). I had no idea what to say. Tried to segue into questions about gay marriage. This man said he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman and quickly followed it by saying he has no problem with gay people. Someone at the office suggested we write "After getting a colonoscopy, John Smith said he has no problem with gay people." Tsk, tsk. Naughty!!

Well, there was still more running around the day after the election. I had to go down to the resort where McCain had conceded the race to do a "cleaning up after the party" story. It was strange parking my car where I often go jogging on the weekends. The resort borders a canal very popular among runners. Anyway, I had the hardest time finding a hotel guest who wasn't a member of the media or McCain's staff. Then I saw a very tall man walking and a little alarm went off--my "I recognize a celebrity" alarm. It was Jon Voight ("Coming Home," Angelina's dad). I remembered reading he was a Republican. I sort of just fell into step with him and he was playfully suspicious when I said I was a reporter. He was like "Why should I talk to you?" I said because we are objective. So, he put his arm around me while we talked. Odd. I didn't know he was a touchy-feely type. After our conversation, I went walking some more. I met some journalists from Spain (Viva Espana!) who told me the Palin children were in the nearby swimming pool but I couldn't confirm it. They suggested I try to find more guests at the gym or another pool. So, I sort of wandered down a bunch of hallways 'til I ended up at another smaller swimming pool. It was deserted. I was just about to open the gate to wait for people to come when a couple came from the other side. They laid down on deck chairs. I was debating whether to approach them when the man took off his cap. I saw it was Joe Lieberman. So, I walked over, made eye contact with his wife and chatted with them for a few minutes. I said upfront I was a reporter. I felt bad interrupting him when he was clearly trying to relax but they shouldn't have been surprised that there were media about. I don't know if he believed me when I said I honestly did not know they were going to be there. Man, I felt like I had a role in "Alice in Conservative Wonderland." Only in Arizona. Anyway, helping on the election has been quite an adventure. Despite the grueling schedule and little sleep, I wouldn't change things. Now back to normal with normal now being having a black president!