2008 FALL. ALL HALLOWS EVE
The leaves are down here for the most part, save for the remaining stragglers, clinging onto their branches for dear life, prolonging their inevitable return to the soil, as all things must. As the nearby trains rattle the the windows in their tired frames, i stare out of them, off down pine street and up to the mountains, as they try to hide behind an erie layer of autumn fog.
This is my fifth time here in Missoula since spring and there are certain homelike qualities about this chair, this room, the front porch, the town. I find myself back here at the end of a long and eventful journey, and at the beginning of yet another chapter of this seemingly far-fetched life. It seems only fitting that this day be a marker for this journey, because being homeless, and relocating to a new city while on a U.S. tour, at this particular time, is about as wild as living in america can get.
All Hallows Eve is, as said by few, a unofficial signifier of the end of a year, as the natural world prepares itself for a winter slumber, so to does the soul in a sense, as it prepares itself for a new canvas, for several other holidays that have eluded their true meanings as decades push on through to the “New Year” and it’s days of cleanup false promises, and apologies.
Significant? Yes, and also, not a bad day to collect the torrent of thoughts that have been flowing with the force and speed of hurricane flood waters, for this past month has been a near blur of amplified life smeared across the country like the insides of lightning beetles of a windshield. for my lack of communication, i apologies, however, the documentation is all there, it just needs to be sorted out, which i will do in the comming month.
We have seen many states in this nation, at a time i feel is the most pivotal time in it’s history. We’ve spoken to many people as well, and I’d be lying if i said i was confident on which way things will go for us here next week. Yes i’m talking about politics, i am talking about the election… and how could one not, after circumnavigating the swing states from the Pacific, to the Midwest on into the Great Lakes region.
We found ourselves reaching to keep up with the “race” as it’s called. Listening to the scathing radio ads and commercials of small town U.S.A., watching debates from crowded GLBT friendly bars on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, talking to young people who are about to vote in their first ever election. It’s only human to want to participate, and help right? I feel we have, and will continue to do so until well after a verdict be met. We were lucky enough to be able to vote early, in one of the 30 states in the country that allows it, in hopes that putting the pressure on might keep polling in check this time. By doing so, we in turn encouraged young voters to do the same, and many have…in fact i have received some feedback from some of those young people, and even some of their parents thanking us for using our time on stages and in venues across the country in a proactive way. To me, that is the tip of accomplishments iceberg, however we’re not there yet…election day is not here yet. Until then i would say the same thing. VOTE NOW, OR YOUR VOTE MIGHT NOT COUNT. The days are falling off as fast as the leaves, and when election day comes, we will be watching, knowing we’ve tried our best, fingers cross in hopes that we don’t have to resort to more drastic measures for change in this country. because if i have to, i will.
– jacy mcintosh
:: 10-31-08 Halloween, Missoula, MT ::
SOCIAL MEDIA
