I first posted this Zoom time on Facebook as “Re-Count Re-Groove” with a picture of a roller coaster and a comment along the lines of we all want to throw our arms in the air and scream, so let’s chat.” Then Saturday morning around 11am Joe Biden was announced as President Elect. Friends from across the world were texting me congratulations and neighbors were dancing in the NYC streets and partying in the parks. So I immediately changed the title of the Zoom meeting to Celebration Groove and the picture to one of Pres. Elect Biden.
Rather than being celebratory and joyous as I’d hoped we’d be, most of us on the well attended Zoom expressed concerns about the immediate future, what scorched earth tactics Trump planned, the lawsuits alleging voter fraud he promised, and his threat to not leave the office quietly. We also talked about our PTSD, how we realized how used to being regularly upset by his tweet, how we wince when he hear his voice, how Biden’s and Harris’ speeches Saturday were a welcome respite, to hear people speak calmly and in proper sentences with hope and seriousness of purpose. We again worried about how many people had voted for him and what that would mean for us having Trump in our futures. We talked about the Georgia races especially, commended Stacey Abrams for getting out the vote, and hoped the recounts would go well. We also talked a bit about the scandals among the Democrats which hadn’t gotten as much press as one might have thought. We also talked about Alex Trebek who just died and about the etymology of the “horny” and “onanism” and the ancient practice of “Jibbum” when a brother married his dead brother’s widow, as happened in the Biden family. We talked about autism and how common it is now that older fathers are propagating more frequently, about inclusion, and charity tennis games with Federer and Nadal who played Bill Gates and Trevor Noah. Someone told a story of watching Bill Murray read Yeats in light of an upcoming online production of Bill Murray reading poetry and someone told a story of having seen his brother Charlie Murphy perform standup. We admired our friend’s little dog. And then we returned to the election, and our concerns over the next couple months. We wondered whether he’d be arrested and agreed likely not, maybe just fined, and that fine would also somehow go away. We wondered whether he would be liable for the Hague to prosecute him for crimes against humanity, but then figured, probably not. We talked about the schisms in our families with some of us veering Democrat and some Trumper and whether that would continue. And we worried a little about COVID as Europe starts to shut down again and we’re seeing superspreader events like maskless weddings and big sports games like Notre Dame vs. Clemson where the students poured out of the stands into the field in one giant semi-masked cluster. So, what was supposed to be a lighter Groove turned out to be more anxiety. I’d hoped we’d allow ourselves a break, but I guess it’s too soon.
