2008 Elections: Vote!

Grandmas occupy a very special place in most of their grandchildren's hearts. Oh, sure, there's the occasional grandmother who is a bitch on wheels with a gun AND a whip. But in general, grandmothers, having done all the hard work of raising their own children, find their real joy in lavishing their affection on their children's children.

Our grandmother was a wicked old woman, and we loved her dearly. She smoked the stinkiest black cigars and drank only black coffee, a legacy of World War II when milk was expensive and hard to come by. She stood four feet nine inches tall, and often lectured us on how smoking would stunt our growth, while puffing away at her stogy. She was a fabulous cook who could make a heavenly meal out of ancient cabbage, a handful or two of dried beans, spinach picked from her own garden, home-made cows' milk cheese, and a little rice. She grew her own coconuts. She told our mother that she didn't have to raise us, just spoil us rotten and then hand us back to our parents to deal with. (She was wicked, just wicked!) And we loved her with all our heart and soul.

So today our hearts go out to Senator Obama on hearing that his beloved Toot, his grandma, the woman who raised his mother and then raised him, lost her long and painful battle with cancer just one day before his election to the presidency.



As you can see, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham were very proud of their boy. So much love in those hugs, those faces, those expressions. It's so sad that she can't be here to see the result of all her hard work in raising her daughter and then her grandson. She dreamed big for her grandson, and she would have been very happy when he walked into the White House. Our condolences Senator, to you and your lovely wife and children, to your sister and her husband and children, on this deep loss.

So all of you who have a grandma you love? Get out there and VOTE for Obama! And all you grandmas? Vote Obama for your grandbabies, so that the world they inherit will be better than the one you know. All you men and women whose parents helped your raise your kids? Vote for Obama so your parents' efforts will be rewarded with their Social Security benefits remaining intact, and their health care being decent, they earned it.

This is for our own beloved Gran who died twenty years ago. She will always be missed. And for Madelyn Dunham, who raised such a fine grandchild to bring hope to so many people.

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