An amazing saving grace.

My guess is that we Americans wouldn’t be in the economic mess we’re in if Al Gore had become president in 2000. Instead, there was political chicanery in Florida. With an assist from the U.S. Supreme Court. And so George Bush saw to it that rich people got trillion dollar tax cuts. And we went off to costly trillion dollar wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Little wonder that a budget surplus built during the Clinton presidency quickly evaporated. Into the biggest budget deficit in the nation’s history. Needlessly. Imagine if there hadn’t been those tax cuts and no wars. We’d have survived the recession in much better shape. Not necessarily smelling like roses. But maybe like daisies. Which ain’t all bad. Studies have since shown that if all of the votes had been counted in Florida, Gore would have become president. Oh, well. History is history. Events are events. And shit happens. So many ifs in this world. I accept life as it comes. And I try to make the best of it. During the interim, my dear Jeanne died of Alzheimer’s. I lamented for a while. But got on with life. By falling in love again. Living as a romantic idealist, a free-thinker, a liberal and a lover. Yes, I took control. In this crazy world. With the intention of making the best of it. In love. Blessed. By an amazing saving grace. –Jim Broede