Is It Over, Yet?

I voted early last week because this twisted election year has beaten me down, and I figured that if I got it out of the way, I'd feel a bit better. I did feel a bit better immediately after I voted. I'm almost 50 years old, but I still get a thrill every time I cast a ballot in an election. I feel so patriotic and American. Not in a flag-waving, 'Murica kind of way, but in a thoughtful and appreciative way. I think of all that came before--the sacrifices and the deep thinking--that allows me to cast a ballot. I was concerned that by voting early I'd miss out a bit on that feeling, because I also like the feeling of voting with other people. You know, the energy of election day. But I didn't experience a lull.

Afterwards, though, the cacophony didn't stop. That was a weird feeling. Every other time I've voted, I've done it on the day of the election and then the noise has died down within a few hours. Not this time. I guess my actions don't control the universe after all!

But I looked at the odds of Trump winning on fivethirtyeight.com and I got nervous again. I've done some gambling and I know that longshots do come in, and I also know that medium shots come in more often. A one-in-three change doesn't make me feel comfortable. I want election day to come and go, and I want it to be a victory for sanity over insane change-for-change's sake.

And don't even get me going on what it might be like if there's a tie or some other such nonsense, causing the election to go to the courts.