I began last week working for an Eagle Scout. He was in charge of an excellent crew of film technicians. One was an undecided voter. Our Eagle Scout boss mentioned that his favorite merit badge was for civics. A leader had taught the Scouts that citizens have a duty to help one another. On the local, national and global levels, adults have to pitch in and pay taxes for roads, bridges, hospitals, police departments, fire departments and schools, for everyone. Yet now a candidate for president is telling us that things are very bad in America and he's smart to avoid paying a single cent to make things better.
Things aren't all bad in America. Do we get grumpy sometimes? Sure. But we try to stay civil for the sake of civilization, to keep things safe for music, art and children. That's what's at stake in this election, said the Eagle Scout. Civilization.
By the end of the week I was working on another job as the Property Master for the SNL Film Unit. Maybe you saw what we did, a three-minute movie called "A Girl's Halloween." I was in charge of nine union workers. My passion is playwriting, but SNL has helped keep me afloat for over twenty years and I'm exceedingly grateful. The tasks are always tough, and this time we had to build, shoot and clean up three locations: a girls' apartment, an exterior street and a pizza parlor with a breakaway glass window. Our workday went 18 hours without a meal break. I got in my car to drive home at 5:30 AM.
You might think I went straight to sleep. That would've been nice. But my wife and I had to race to the airport to attend my high school reunion in Ohio. I was psyched to see my friends, but also little nervous. What if some of these guys supported the Republican nominee? I wondered if I should just shut up, even though that's not my strong suit. Did I sleep on the plane? Let's put it this way: the flight attendant couldn't get her cart down the aisle because my leg was in the way, so my wife had to pick it up and move it. I have no recollection of any of that. I was out cold.
At the reunion, I probably looked like hell, but was awake enough to notice that 100% of my Ohio classmates, Democrats and Republicans, are with Hillary. Vocally. If anyone is backing her opponent, they didn't have the guts to say so. And this was a boys' school. You've probably seen the chart that says that if only men were voting, the map of our nation would be very red. Well, all the guys in my class are with her. Of course I saw a few lawn signs for He Who Shall Not Be Named and they stuck out like swastikas. But I now believe that my home state—a swing state—will enter the Clinton/Kaine column because Buckeyes are good and caring people. And on November 8th we'll be voting for a Girl Scout.
Voting for Hillary.
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October 29, 2016