Self-Talk for the Last Days of the Campaign

Well, when Tuesday night rolls around half the country will be relieved and happy, and the other will be in despair. How many are like me, mentally preparing for the worst? Maybe everyone. When I lapse into fear I tell myself that Charlie Parker probably didn't know who his senator was when he invented Bebop. And can anyone tell us who was president when our grandparents fell in love? It's clear at this point that I'll never succeed in becoming apolitical. I envy those guys who say, "I never vote; it just encourages those bastards." The best I can do, I guess, is try to keep some perspective and watch out for depressing self-talk. Politics is vitally important and unimportant at the same time, isn't it? Let's just say when I'm dying I probably won't be replaying any election cycles in my mind. And if the politics of 2016 does worm its way in there, well, hopefully the doctors will have some meds for that.