Midterms

I lost two subscribers on my Substack site this week after I published an "Election Day Special Edition." 

I guess I should not be that surprised, but I thought I was pretty equal in my disdain for both political parties. But some people don't want to hear and read what they don't want to hear and read, and they certainly have the right to have delivered to their inbox what they prefer, so I'll not lose sleep over it. 

I picked up four new subscribers, so I made a net gain of two. 

I have not decided if I will revisit the topic there next week. I know there are those who would prefer I stay away from politics. But I warned everyone that I would go there on occasion. 

Apparently, a "red wave" had been expected, i.e., the Republicans would make big gains and take over the House and Senate. I guess I missed all that speculation and conjecture. I did not know it had been all but a foregone conclusion that the GOP would mop up the floor, so to speak, with their Democratic opponents in most races.

I suspect this is more spin than anything else -- the Democrats saying "look, we're still strong" (even though the margin will still be razor thin and more gridlock is guaranteed).  President Biden said it was "a good night for democracy." 

I agree, but for a reason different from his. He said it because his party did better than expected. I think it's always a good night for democracy when people have been allowed to have a say in how their government is administered, and all of that happens peaceably -- no matter the outcome. 

Maybe I am mistaken about this, but I believe there are more people like me than the pundits and prognosticators realize. I am an independent voter and I vote for the person I wish to be elected. 

When I voted this time, as I recall, I voted for two Democrats and one Republican.  In one race I abstained because I simply could not bring myself to vote for either candidate. 

On election night, the commentators seemed amazed that, in the Georgia governor's race, incumbent Republican Brian Kemp won decisively over Democrat Stacey Abrams, while in the race for the U.S. Senate in the same state, the margin between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Hershel Walker was so close, with neither receiving 50 percent, that there will be a runoff. 

This did not surprise me at all. Hershel Walker has absolutely no qualifications to be a senator and throughout the campaign had to fight off all kinds of accusations and allegations of impropriety. Had I been voting in Georgia I would have likely done the same thing: voted for Kemp for governor and Warnock for senator (or abstained). 

Had the Republicans had the good sense to nominate someone who had been the least bit qualified, they would probably have easily taken that Senate seat, but for whatever reason, they nominated an ex-football player with a shady past. And a whole bunch of folks in Georgia who might have otherwise leaned toward the GOP decided they just could not swallow that.  

As much as the folks who study and ponder all of this would like to categorize us and put us into neat little boxes, and by doing so predict the outcomes of elections, the fact remains there are those of us who maintain a stubborn independent streak and will not vote along a strict party line. 

World Series

My favorite baseball team, the Houston Astros, is playing in the World Series. I am writing this Friday night during Game 1 of the best-of-seven series against the Philadelphia Phillies, who squeaked into postseason play in the Wild Card position but have played spectacularly since doing so. 

The Astros have become a regular in postseason play and have been to the World Series four of the past six seasons. 

They won it in 2017, but there is a huge virtual asterisk by their name due to a cheating scandal uncovered the following year. That year, 2018, Wife, Younger Son and I went to the ALCS (American League Championship Series) in Houston to see them play the Red Sox, and they lost. That was my first and only time to see postseason play, and it was a lot of fun, even with the loss.

Not long after that, however, all the stuff about the cheating came out and was verified. This broke my heart, and had I known about it beforehand, I would probably not have gone to that game. 

I was bitterly disappointed and angry over the cheating scandal. I had followed the Astros since I was eight years old, and I felt betrayed and robbed. 

They went back to the fall classic in '19 and lost to the Nationals, and in '21 when they lost to the Braves (which pleased everyone in my family except me). 

It took me a couple of years to get over the cheating scandal and fully forgive them. But the truth is I've never been one to hold a grudge. I'm back as a fan. 

I thought the Astros would surely hit the skids as an organization after it was revealed what happened in '17, but thanks to manager Dusty Baker, some key players who stayed around and some others they were able to acquire, they've remained a force to be reckoned with. This year was remarkable as they led the AL West the entire season and won it decisively.

Long story short: I'm boarding a plane for Houston tomorrow (Saturday) morning and will meet my two sons for World Series Game 2. I don't like the term "bucket list" because I think it's an overused buzz phrase, but this definitely fulfills a desire I've had for a long time -- to go to a World Series game. And going to see my favorite team play makes it even sweeter. 

The Phillies just won Game 1, so we're not off to a good start. But tomorrow will be great no matter the outcome. 

Something new

I have recently referred to the weekly column I have written for a local online publication for the past 11 years and how I suspected that was coming to an end. 

I was correct. My last column posted August 26th. The last one I submitted, a week after that, never ran. That publication is obviously "going in a different direction" (a classic line used when an employer is letting an employee go); they simply never bothered to tell me. 

I was not paid, so I supposed there was no reason to tell me it was over, but I think it would have been the courteous thing to do. 

There was one other columnist, and he was having the same experience I was. He finally got someone to respond to him, and we learned much of the staff dedicated to this publication had been let go. He was told we could continue submitting columns but there was no commitment to running them. Uh, yeah, right. 

That made it a no-brainer for me. I was done. 

That brings me to the next chapter. I will continue to write the column, but now it will be in the form of a newsletter, using the platform Substack. I will post new material there, and subscribers will receive an email when new content is posted. 

I retained all of the emails and comments I have received from readers over the past 11 years. Earlier this week, I sent an email blast to all of those who had communicated with me, explaining my new venture on Substack and giving them the opportunity to subscribe. I've sent a couple of other smaller mass emails to others I thought might be interested, and I have received a positive response. 

I thought about combining this new gig with this blog, but I will not be doing so. The blog, which I began in 2008, has become a place where I communicate with the friends I have made here, and I enjoy it a great deal. I plan to continue the blog in its current form. 

The Substack newsletter will be a continuation of my column -- Everyman life observations, often (but not always) with some emphasis on local issues. I have described it on the welcome page as "Everyman. Life Observations. Occasional Opinions." 

Readers here, of course, are more than welcome to subscribe and I would be thrilled to have you! You may simply skip over the content that is of no interest to you. 

I totally get it if you have no interest in having another email hit your inbox, but if you would like to subscribe, simply click on the link below, or copy and paste it into your browser, and hit Subscribe when you're prompted. You'll receive an email when there is a new post. Wish me luck!  

https://bmac1018.substack.com