Seeing a post of John's inspires me to a post-election post.

I stood at the back of a three-person line yesterday when the fire alarm went off. The poll workers and the three of us filed outside. After a surprisingly short time it turned off and we went back inside. I was a little uncertain of how much we should complain to each other; it hadn't been more than 100 seconds. After what had become four people, I voted and left.

That afternoon I forgot I had voted and about the election altogether. One student who works with me on the school's conservative paper walked past and hit me with two stacatto, underhand pats between my shoulder and shoulderblade.

"It's a big day for us Schmitz. A big day."

I was confused, but not very. Later that night I ran into some of my Catholic friends; Ben was going to Vespers and he asked me to come. At least I think he did--I may have volunteered. He could have enlisted me for anything then, even pickup sports. I realized I had been more or less wandering around campus. When we entered the chapel he informed me that he was a 'social member' of the gregorian chant choir. He walked over to the altar and stood a little away from the canticle concentric that was practicing there.

When Vespers was over I started walking to my eating club through a warm, falling mist. Campus looks best when it rains at night. The water extends the glows of the lamps two feet out from the bulbs and they look proud and secret, like butterball pearls melting out into the mist. I walked by the Wilson School fountain and looked at the lit jet that shot up from its center. It seemed like the whole campus had slipped under its spray and was sitting there with a happy patience.

The next morning water was draining down the sidewalks and it still rained. Outside the club I picked up a damp paper. The headline read 'BUSH TAKES THUMPING: CONSERVATIVES SEARCH THEIR SOULS'. I learned a lot about myself then. Sometimes news seems like a fortune-cookie update from the past, yesterday's diary entry independently assembled and lying on my doorstep.

posted by Matthew Schmitz   [8:15 PM]

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