Changing Latitudes, Chasing the Sun, Voting with Consequence
Geese are starting to fly South, squawking over the river in formation. At least I think theirs is a southward journey. It might just be a Saturday morning field trip, but I haven’t seen any flying in the opposite direction. It is not yet winter, and as I sit by the river this morning facing east with the rising sun in my face, I am pleasantly warm in only a bulky sweatshirt and pants but am told by the weather forecasters that an arctic wind is on its way. The geese are honking all around the river so I think they already know it is time to hit the road or the air.
I began this column in early November on the Eastern Shore of Maryland but won’t post till December. My intent is to offer more than a weather report and subtly—is it subtle?—to speak on larger issues. By the end of the month I will have moved South to Florida. I will vote there in the next election, and for the first time in 30 years my vote may have consequence for in the District of Columbia where I have been a resident for the past decades, the voter has no national representation—no Senators and only one Representative who doesn’t have voting rights in the Congress. The city is heavily one party so a single vote has slight impact. Not that one vote has profound impact anywhere, except that it does. Over these last decades we have learned that one vote, two votes, each citizen’s voice can make a difference. I will find out.
I will still toggle between north and south, but having landed in the state of sunshine and palm trees, I am looking forward to this change of latitude. I am now watching the sun rise on the terrace of a restaurant that doesn’t open till dinner, looking out over cars on the road and a beach just beyond with freighters on the horizon. The geese haven’t gotten this far south yet. I don’t know if they ever arrive in Florida. I will find out. There are occasional sea gulls. I will miss the geese and ducks but will see them again in the spring and summer when we both return, and meanwhile starting next year, I will vote again, perhaps with more consequence.