I heard U2's "Beautiful Day" last night...

I was driving late last night, listening to U2 and "Beautiful Day" came on. I felt as if I was instantly catapulted back to October 2004.

I remembered the Kerry campaign rally on the grounds of the Iowa State Fair. The crowd was overflowing with enthusiasm and energy. I felt so filled up, as I thought, "Only a few more weeks, and the nightmare of George Bush will be finished."

I remember John Kerry--so comfortable in his mustard-yellow barn jacket--the one with the brown, corduroy collar. "Beautiful Day" wafted through the crowd, and I remember thinking how beautiful things would truly be after the election.

Fast forward to current times. I hear "Beautiful Day" and I am immersed--and drenched in--hope from the past. It almost hurts to feel that hope again, and to remember how idealistic and optimistic I felt in October 2004. Juxtapose yesterday's hopeful campaign rallies with the shocking atmosphere that Bush has created--and it almost cuts you in half.

"Beautiful Day" contains so much imagery that pertains to the hurricane victims--"mud", "rain" and "There's no room, No space to rent in this town".

For a few minutes this week--while drawing on the hope that Kerry inspired throughout his campaign, I felt more optimism for this country and for the hurricane victims--than I have felt since this catastrophe happened. It's amazing--and a bit sad--that John Kerry's sincere, dignified, intelligent messages of a brighter day are more powerful than anything our current leadership has offered--since election day.

I hope the victims of this horrendous storm can find hope and many "Beautiful Days" in the future........

BEAUTIFUL DAY--U2

The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There's no room
No space to rent in this town

You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere

You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace

It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination

You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you

It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Reach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now
Was a beautiful day
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My daughter got married last October and she had them play that song at her wedding when the two of them, newly married, entered the reception. It was her statement to all the republican relatives and friends. I have a CD of her wedding songs and listen to that a lot. Like you...it takes me right back to last summer. The Kerry campaign was one of the happiest times of my life.

used to see them quite often late 60s.
Best brother/sister musical act I've ever seen (no offense to the Donnie/Maria crowd)

Remember "White Bird"?

concert in DC last October. The energy in that room was so powerful and I, too, believed that the nightmare was almost over. But I hadn't yet found DU, and I didn't realize we were headed for another stolen election.

And I never, ever imagined that it could get this bad, this fast.