A Letter from Parapluie to her grandchildren

My dear grandchildren,

I have great hope for you and our country. In four years one of you will have the opportunity to vote in a presidential election and possibly even defend our country. In eight years three of you will be able to vote for a president. So please let me share with you my passion for the 2008 election in three painted boxes that I made for you.

Today the 14th of September some 50 days from election day, the race is tied - McCain is gaining ground over Obama. Only 9% of the voters are undecided. In this land we are one people and resolve our differences by election. When the results are in we unite together as one United States of America supporting the voice of the majority.

My paintings are a comparison of playing basketball to politics and running for political office. In my paintings the opponent is not the dedicated politicians of the opposite party but the jerseys that either side may put on when the politics get dirty - the jerseys are made of string from Greed, Big Lies, and Fear. The candidate of my choice is the one that blocks these political jerseys so as to make a door for a team of his supporters. When the plagues are blocked people can voice their hopes. They are confident that the issues that they care about are heard. For me my hope is for my most loved ones, my grandchildren to be able to pursue their American dreams. What they need most is an EMPOWERING education.

I went out campaigning for Obama in our neighborhood. I inroduced myself as the volunteer for Obama. I went on to say I am the neighbor with a Republican husand. He has always been Republican to the last ounce of his being. He lives his belief that there should be less government because citizens like himself should volunteer. He is a full time volunteer for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. This year he volunteered more than full time April and May thinning an overgrown Christmas tree farm in the center of our urban neighborhood. He greatly reduced an ugly fire danger. More than six full log truck loads of dead and dieing pine trees were donated by a neighbor to fish habitate in lakes at some Interstate 5, rock quarries.

The continuance of life requires stewardship of all of us to enhance the world's environment. To me this is a high priority of our life ever since we met 45 years ago. So the candidate with the best policy and leadership focus on the environment is my candidate of choice.

Some neighbors that I talked to have given up on government. They have lost the sense that they count. But we can make ourselves count. The candidate of my choice is the one that inspires me. And the biggest most important point is to know that we can make ourselves count if we team up.

As Obama said "Government doesn't bring change to the people. People bring change to the government." Not all change is in the same direction. The Republican change is the kind that government brings to big corporations in the form of tax loop holes. This is confusing because the Democrats used to be the ones that gave out the handouts until John F. Kennedy said,"Don't ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country." As I speak change is happening. I am excited because the Obama team has empowered the democrats to own this election a real change to make citizens feel that they can make a difference.

I'll be sending you soon another note with a picture of the second painting where I visualize how Obama and world heads of state team up against the same plagues as in the campaign Fear, Greed, Lies, and Inertia to start peaceful diplomacy. I visualize the way Obama plays basketball will extend to diplomacy in the world.

Love and kisses and hugs from Grandma