Super Doomsday

I've been watching the primaries and caucuses with interest. I became something of a political junkie over the past eight years, and trust me, you don't even want to discuss the current administration with me. So super Tuesday is a big deal to me. I'm sitting here at midnight watching the primary results coming in.

Now mind you, I do my civic duty. I pay my taxes. I do jury duty -- last time was a murder trial for a gangbanger. NOT fun. I do what I'm supposed to. But my actual interaction with the governmental process is limited.

Or WAS limited, till last October.

My dad turned 80 last November. My mother announced to me, months before, that the president would be more than happy to send Dad a birthday card, now that he'd reached his 80th year. She also informed me that it was up to me to make that happen. I went and read the White House website, and noticed that I needed to order the card maybe six weeks in advance.

Try getting ME to remember something like that. Right.

So I waited, and a few weeks before the big day, I remembered that I needed to order The Card. I was at work, and I think I was even training someone, who was pretty much on her own, but just needed someone around for moral support. So, completely bored, I decided to take care of business. Went to the White House website. Navigated to the little application thingy that you have to fill out. Hit SEND.

All the lights went out.

I'm talking, pitch black in the entire call center -- a very large room of hamster maze, with at least a couple of dozen people working at the time. Pitch black. No phones. Nothing. The Hispanic housekeeper shouted "no luz." Yep -- no light. No light, that is, except MY computer.

My computer and phone were the only ones in the whole place to never go dark. The poor hospital operators couldn't call a code, and the nurses couldn't talk to anyone at all. Phones were dead, paging was out, computers were out. Except me. Totally spooked me out, considering I was hitting SEND when it happened -- sending an email to a Republican White House, when I am a tried and true Democrat.

I decided that God speaks in mysterious ways, and he was saying that I should definitely NOT mingle with the Republicans. But He must've reconsidered, cause the email went through, as well as one to the governor of the fair state of Michigan (who is a Democrat, just to even things out), and my dad has his special card framed for posterity.

So yeah, keep an eye out on the elections. And if you have a blackout, just know that it's probably some errant citizen, trying to email the Big Guy (or Girl, as it were). And just in case you need a thinking cap to figure that out, here's a wonderful listing that is all mine: a pattern for a cool set of turbans. Makes you look mighty smart, indeed. But keep a flashlight nearby, just in case.