Happy Halloween! Welcome to my election blog. It is so rare for me to venture outside my Citrus County sandbox, but I will today offer up some thoughts on the big race. I do so reluctantly. I mean…haven’t we said all that needs to be said? What else is there? Plus, I’m no expert in national politics. I purposely AVOID national and state politics because it’s simply not in my comfort zone.
But I can’t let the first national election of the Just Wright Citrus era arrive without offering up some thoughts. Here we go: — Looks like it’s gonna be a close one. And…that’s it. I actually had another blog all teed up and was about to post. Then I read it for the fifth time and realized all I was doing was adding more noise to what is already a deafening campaign. We don’t need that. I have no Just Wright Citrus insight into national politics. I pay attention, of course, but probably not more than most people. That’s always a little surprising to folks when they ask what I do for a living. When I say I write about politics, I can see their faces scrunch up. So I quickly add: “Local politics! Sheriff, county commissioners, that sort of thing. Not the national stuff.” My mind is crammed with politics this week. I took a break Wednesday night and wandered into downtown Inverness for the Cooterween, a sort of pub crawl for 8-year-old goblins. I counted, and there were approximately 3 million children and their parents, all in various costumes, lining up from one business to the next for goodies. I’ve never been a Halloween guy. I don’t seem to have the imagination needed to pull off even the simplest get-up. (Twice, I’ve worn women’s clothing. Once as a nurse for Halloween in Michigan, the other as Madonna lip-syncing “Santa Baby” during the Chronicle Christmas party one year that included me sitting on a horrified Santa’s lap. Thankfully, these were in the wonder days before cell phones.) It’s so easy for me to get wrapped up in the mundane drip of politics. It’s all cause and effect. Very rarely does politics surprise or delight. There’s nothing fun about this race. No one I know is feeling really positive about Tuesday. There is much concern and anxiety. It’s like waiting for that Category 5 to come rolling up the state. I have written about politics all my adult life. Nothing has prepared me for this. All I can do is what I know, and that’s to write about Citrus County. Offering an opinion outside my sandbox is a waste of blog breath. Cooterween was my reality check. My two feet belong right where I stand. I’m pretty sure the sun will rise on a beautiful post-election Citrus County Wednesday, and we’ll go about life doing our best. That’s my approach. That's all I can do. Life’s too short to worry about election results. Totally out of my control. Someone else is taking care of all that. I rest in the knowledge that we’re in good hands regardless of the outcome. I pray to keep that faith through the coming days. Have a safe and fun Halloween, friends. Join the discussion on our Facebook page. Enjoying the blog? Please consider supporting it at Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 36 years. Archives
November 2024
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