Election Day 2004

November 2 2004 was an awesome day. I was pretty discouraged at about 1 pm as the market started going down because of the exit polls were saying that John Kerry was ahead in the presidential race - especially medical stocks went down. I voted just after the lunch rush.

Following work, I went with about 6 co-workers to the Simpson House to serve a meal to their homeless guests. Simpson House is a shelter that houses about 45 men each evening in south Minneapolis. It's actually the basement/kitchen of an old Methodist Church. The guests are welcomed in at 6pm each evening and must be out the door by 7am the next morning. They are served 2 meals during their stay (dinner and breakfast). The men are allowed into the supply closet once a week to retrieve a new pair of underwear, soap, razors, socks, etc. The shelter has computers and telephones available for the men. And they can receive their mail there, etc. Most of the occupants have all of their earthly belongings in a backpack/bag that they keep next to their bed mattress - which is right on the floor. Some have chemical abuse issues, some are mentally challenged in some way. Some have just had "bad luck". About 40% of the men have jobs but just can't get off of the street at $8/hour or less. Anyway, the chicken/pasta meal that we made was pretty good - I have to say. And the guests were very thankful. Many had voted during the day. I love America and the dignity that democracy gives to all citizens. They just had to have someone validate their residency at Simpson and they could vote. What an awesome country!

I got home around 9pm - just as Tim and Peanut & Boo got home from piano lessons. Tim and I settled into watching the election returns. By then, George W's chances were looking a lot better than the exit polls had predicted earlier in the day.

New York and California were foregone conclusions - Kerry's "blue" states. Texas and much of the south were strongly for Bush - "red" states. The first breakthrough was about midnight when Florida was called for George W. I was following the election returns on the television - and I was also flipping between web pages on my laptop. Just when Florida was called I was desparate enough to start a spreadsheet to show the remaining states and their electoral college votes. At about 1:30, Fox News called Ohio for George W. None of the other stations were willing to take that step. But I rejoiced that the election had obviously ended very differently than had been predicted by the exit polls earlier in the day. My heart was just full of amazement over how God was at work. I went to sleep praising God for being faithful to America - even when we are so unfaithful to Him.

Thankfully, John Kerry was very gracious and he conceded the next day at about lunch time. Let's keep going, President Bush. I praise you for your strength of conviction. We'll follow you as you lead our great nation. God bless America!