Cynical Nation

My wife and I recently got back from three weeks nestled deep in the black walnut trees of Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains. We were staying in an old farm house, out in the boonies, to focus on our creative endeavors. Here are some pictures of some of the friendly denizens who surrounded us.

Okay, that last one doesn't really count, but I found it mildly amusing nonetheless.

In addition, we spent some time antiquing, discovering local folk art, and we took a trip to the Wyoming County Fair. God, what a great American tradition! My wife, God bless her, went to the pie auction, and won us the blue ribbon-winning cherry pie (minus the slice the judges had sampled, obviously.) Quite a bargain for eight bucks.

We spent a fair amount of time speaking with the Democrats who were manning the DP booth on the fairgrounds, too (Mrs. Cynic, as loyal readers will recall, is a Democrat herself.) They were very nice and engaging people, but a bit on edge. In fact, tempers flared twice, and it was not (pinky swear!) my doing. And this, mind you, was before it was widely acknowledged that Bush had assumed the lead in most polls.

I engaged them in debate, but to tell the truth, they didn't really have much other than, "Well, if you support the war, then why aren't you over there fighting? Huh? Well?"

Still, they were charming people, and I left, comforted, that even if Kerry wins, there are still some sane Democrats to be found.

Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, my friend Boaz was way ahead of me. He actually attended the convention, saw Zell Miller's speech in person, sat near Sean Hannity, and met Dick Cheney. (I am actually jealous of one of these three things, but I won't say which.)