Poi Dog Pondering – God’s Gallipoli

Our internet died today. Today! And the tech can’t come until Thursday. Thursday! I told the woman on the phone that I’m working from home and my son is doing school from home and can’t someone come sooner? I didn’t bother to say, the fucking election is tomorrow and I need my internet!! I mean, I have my phone. I am making this post on my phone and it can be a hotspot so I am not in the dark, but this timing is unbelievable.

I thought it was the weather at first because it was super windy out but the woman on the phone was pretty certain it’s the router/modem because she tested the line remotely and said it was working. Then she said, how old is that modem? I don’t really know but we’ve had it a long time. She clicked around some more and then she gasped, “Oh my goodness! That modem is 20 years old!!” Ok, it’s old, but it can’t be that old. We got it when we were living in our current house so at most it can be 13 years old, but I’m guessing it’s more like 7 years. Admittedly the modem wasn’t new when we got it and seven years is pretty old for a piece of technology like that. It has been crapping out frequently over the last couple of months so I’m not surprised if it is the culprit, but I have also suspected that we are using the internet far more than it is engineered to handle. Either way, the tech will come, hopefully sooner than Thursday, and something will be done to restore it.

Perhaps there’s a metaphor lurking somewhere in there for the situation the nation is staring down. Things are not going to be magically restored on election day. It will take a while longer, and definitely longer than we’d like, before we will know the outcome. There is massive uncertainty and probable unrest in the days ahead. Even in the best case scenario there is still November, December, and three weeks of January to get through. I need something to get me over the top!

I am telling myself:

Back in the ring now,
with eye held just high enough to see the prize.
Head bent forward and hip into wind as always.
Slugging it out ’til the end, the boxer.

There are a couple of versions of this song but I took this live version because man, do I miss being there. I love how the person recording it goes for the wide shot at the point in the song where experience tells me the crowd is bouncing, and they are. It’s a joy filled moment wrought from a difficult and punishing time. And the fists are pumping because so many of us know what that feels like and you’re there, surrounded by people who get it.

Leave it all on the floor. Take nothing for granted so you have no regrets. Let’s hit the nail on the head and drive that fucker home.