8 Ways to Sunday

My faithful 1993 silver Grand Am, Gracie, expired today of complications from a cracked head gasket. She was 108,462 miles old, and is survived by my bicycle, Vic.

Based on an image from The Wichita Eagle, 11-6-04 edition, p. 1F

What’s all this talk of the blue states seceding to Canada? It was cute the first time I saw it, tiresome the second time, and by the third time I was really starting to get pissed off. Who are these sunshine liberals, these weekend patriots, who’ll run off to Canada to avoid the hard work of making their country a better place? Then I saw the comment “Barbara” left to this post at BOPnews, proposing that she boycott all “red” counties during her cross-country road trip, and I’d had enough.

What, exactly, is the point of boycotting “Red” America? Do you want to make them even more economically isolated and xenophobic? Give them proof that all us liberals are a bunch of elitist twits, condemning them for being exclusionary while simultaneously looking down our noses at anyone not just like us? Deepen the divide even farther?

As a liberal writing this from the buckle of the Bible Belt, I can tell you right now that there is nothing to be gained from this kind of action. If you really want to create some change, drive your car — complete with Kerry/Edwards sticker — right through the heart of Red-State America on your road trip. Buy groceries in the few small-town, non-corporate family groceries and farmer’s markets you can still find. Eat the deadly-greasy and delicious special at some mom ‘n pop diner, followed up by the cherry pie, and say your please and thank-you-ma’ams. Don’t make a secret of your politics, but don’t shove it in anyone’s face either. Be civil, and don’t condescend.

Show these people that we aren’t the aliens their corrupt politicians have made us out to be. Remind them, by example, that we’re all Americans and all in the same boat. Be a missionary from Blue America — not on a crusade to convert, but to inform and familiarize. Do this, and I expect you’ll learn a lot about yourself, about the red states, and about America in the process. What America, and the Left, needs right now is outreach and understanding rather than talk of secession and civil war.

I mean, come on — what the fuck is wrong with you people? As liberals and progressives, our war is with the leaders of this administration and not with the people they’ve fooled into voting for them. We shouldn’t run crying to our northern neighbor. We should run smiling into the very heart of Red America, and learn how stupid and baseless all this fear and loathing really is.

Update: Les Jenkins is thinking along similar lines in this very well-reasoned post.

The New York City subway system, one of the largest in the world, turned 100 on Wednesday. The city’s first official subway opened October 27, 1904.

I’m back home from Toronto, having arrived early this morning after my flight from Cincinnati was delayed. I’ve been puttering around since I woke up at 2pm — playing with my cat, nursing a couple of cups of coffee. Later today — as I unpack and start doing my laundry from the trip — I’ll be posting a few more entries from the conference, backdated to the date and time that I scrawled them on hotel stationary.

First, though, I wanted to post a warning to anyone considering flying Delta Air Lines in the near future. Unless you live in or near a city with a major hub airport, chances are good that you’ll have to take a connecting flight to a hub on a partner or subsidiary airline. Delta uses Comair, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, for this purpose. (more…)

Torontoans drive crazy, but I walk crazy so it sort of evens out.

All of the female mannequins down Queen St West seem to have nipples, which is rare in small-town Kansas. Very few mannequins of either gender have heads, which is slightly disturbing. I took a picture of a window display to demonstrate this on my photoblog when I get back, and some drunk taxi passenger shouted “Hey perv, stop takin’ pictures!”

I was marked by a guy in a convenience store who was stupid enough to let me know he was doing it. I lost him in foot traffic pronto.

Torontoans, for the most part, are very friendly. I’ve started pleasant conversations with total strangers on the street without being looked at like I was crazy.

There’s an Indian restaurant on Queen West called “Gandhi Indian Cuisine,” which is kind of ironic when you think about it.

The people in the room next door to mine are having sex right now (not the Urinator, but the ones on the other side). This is nice for them, but I’m a bit envious.

I may not be able to post any more until I get home, since the battery is running out on my borrowed laptop and Colleen forgot to pack her power cord. If the Resource Center is still open tomorrow, I may try to squeeze a description of day three into the allotted 10 minutes of computer time I can get there.

‘Night.