Some are literally running down their spouse:

A Mesa woman was arrested Saturday after she allegedly chased her husband around a Gilbert parking lot in an SUV during an argument over the presidential election. The woman finally ran over her husband, leaving him with critical injuries.

But most amazing to me, tens of thousands have decided that the country which a mere week ago they claimed they were fighting to save … should now be destroyed via secession:

But rather than simply deal with the results, however, thousands of Georgians have decided that they would rather secede from the United States.

The White House’s website, which added a petition section earlier this year to “to take action on a range of issues,” has also received petitions from over 20 states. That includes more than 13,500 Louisianans and 18,000 Texans.

When I checked this morning, just shy of 30,000 people had signed one of the two petitions for Georgia, though a significant percentage of them are not from Georgia.

Once upon a time, some liberals would proclaim that if Candidate X wins, they will move to Canada. Few ever did, but it was a statement that “this country has changed so much I must move to a new country.”

Those who call for secession are saying “this country has changed so much it must be destroyed via a breakup.”

That is skin deep patriotism, or what one might call “bandwagon patriotism.” As long as things are going my way electorally, America is Great! Love it or Leave it! But let “my side” lose just one election, and I’m ready to bust the whole thing up.

That also says, “I have so little faith in this country, and in ‘my side’s’ ability to effect change in this country, it’s just time to end this experiment.”

Frankly, it’s a selfish & cowardly attitude of sour grapes, and it’s embarrassing to live in a state where so many apparently hold it.

Clicking any link below within [brackets] will show you an old photo in a pop-up window:
0 – [At Rex Hospital] [In Mom’s arms]
1 – [Busted my head chasing pidgeons] (related story) [Dec., 1959, with Dad, Mom, and Granddaddy and Grandmother Stott]
2 – [a handful, I’m sure]
3 – The first of [many ties] (that was Susan’s comment while looking through these old pictures; “Look, another suit and tie! What happened to you?”)
4 – Another year, [another tie]
5 – [kindergarten]
6 – A real slice of Americana, the 1964 portrait of my [first grade class] (I’m on the right, in red vest and bowtie, of course).
7 – [check out sister’s hair!]
8 – [Star Trek audition] (hey, we all dressed silly then)
9 – Summers at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, [catchin’ fish]. Well, hangin’ around Sportsman’s Pier while my Granddaddy [caught fish].
10 – [cub scouts] [class photo, Oakland, NJ, 1968]
11 – Lived in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Revelled in 5 feet of snow, as only a child can. [class photo, St. Johnsbury, 1969]
12 – Went to Gettysburg, my first [photo trip]
13 – Class book reports, [in character] (I’m Patton, with the revolver)
14 – Since I had my [first girlfriend], I also had to have [some wheels].
15 – Called out my high school principal in the local newspaper.
16 – Misplaced virginity (sorry, no photo). [Played Trapper John in MASH]
17 – What should have been my Senior year of high school became my [Freshman year at Wake Forest University].
18 – Full time Sophomore, part time DJ at WKZL-FM, Winston-Salem, NC.
19 – Full time DJ at WKZL-FM, ending my time at Wake Forest, and beginning my detour into a Career For The Young.
20 – Graveyard shift, WRBN-FM, Macon/Warner Robins, GA, [occasionally seen in daylight hours]
21 – Program Director [with Playboy Centerfolds] of WRBN-FM, Macon/Warner Robins, GA. [Big fish, small pond]
22 – [Got married]. The first time. Got my [first camera].
23 – As Program Director (second-in-command), I outlasted 3 General Manager’s in one year (out of a total of 9 in five years), one of whom fired me, hired me back on 30 days probation, and then got himself fired before that probation was up. Radio was such a blast. Well, other than the Playboy Centerfolds above.
24 – Got separated. I mud wrestled women, played Donkeyball, and got my butt kicked by the Harlem Globetrotters, all in the name of my “job.”
25 – Broke my neck (spiral fracture of the C-2) and got a DUI. In one 18 hour span, I was in an accident, in jail, in court, did an airshift, then went to the ER, who zipped me to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, where the neurosurgeon’s first words to me were “you have a very interesting fracture.” It was a day worthy of Jack Bauer on 24.
26 – Got divorced. Got out of radio. Into photography (breaking your neck can be a life altering experience in more ways than one).
27 – The first part of a two year program at the St. Alban’s Academy for the Visually Illiterate, also known as the Portfolio Center.
28 – Watched yet another relationship spontaneously combust during the Holidays (which was once a disturbing long term trend for me).
29 – Entered the freelance world of advertising photography.
30 – [Camping] in the Smokies (cue banjo music).
31 – Went to Yosemite for the first time.
32 – Move into a loft. Wonderful space, but very costly.
33 – War and recession make the loft even more expensive.
34 – Adopted [my child]. Called out the President in the local (alternative) newspaper.
35 – Moved out of the expensive loft.
36 – Went back to Yosemite. Became a homeowner. Got blood poisoning. Had knee surgery (torn medial miniscus). Met my future wife, on the night the Braves won the World Series.
37 – Got my first computer. Built my first web page. Covered the Olympics online.
38 – People start paying me to make HTML products.
39 – Went on a spirit walk, Red Rock Road Trip.
40 – Big Boom Times in the photo biz, as well as in web design.
41 – My future wife moves in. I start a weblog (entirely unrelated, I promise).
42 – I get my first digital camera. Started a photoblog (added 2,088 photos since then).
43 – A year of darkness and change. On the night of my birthday, the President told us “to uphold the values of America, and remember why so many have come here. We are in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility is to live by them.” I’ve done my part. Can’t say the same for him.
44 – I get married. And a Canon D60, too. Launch PhotoDude Labs.
45 – Totaled my wife’s car. Mistakenly identified as [pony-tailed lawyer]. Claimed a Google crown. Consummated our marriage with Leap Year Bisquits.
46 – Made a local pilgrimage in search of closure. Went on a sabbatical from politics (85 days so far). Finally Got A Mac. Started making music songs noises you can download.
47 – Bought my name. Met A Girl Named Caroli, built her a web site, and took hundreds of photos of her. Went through 32 Dark Days, during which I first lost Fuji, and then lost Dad. Found The Digital Grail, and a new form of Togetherness.
48 – Lost my father-in-law. Gained two new family members, and new working conditions. Published my 2,000th Pixel Pile, evolved this 11 year old site, and rebooted PhotoDude Labs. Took my favorite photo of the year.
49 – I worked. Got a Tivo and it made my head explode. I worked. Our kitties got big (19.5 lbs). Both of them (14.5 lbs). I worked. Got Alex and Sarah hitched. I worked. Got an iPhone. And then I worked some more (incredibly busy year, client-wise).
50 – It was an emphatic 50th year, as I joined AARP, acquired an age related disease, and gained a granddaughter (subject of many photos). Message received, Mother Nature.
51 – In my 51st year, Mother Nature continued kicking my butt. First she gave me a minor stroke, through which she revealed a brain aneurysm (see Brain Matters Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, plus Waiting and Contemplating). $50,000 worth of medical care later, I am prepared for surgery Oct. 28th.
52 – Had brain surgery to repair an aneurysm (very successful!). Got a severe haircut, prior to the even more severe surgical haircut & incision (warning: graphic photo). It was quite a hairy transition. Lost a long time good buddy. And six months later, lost another.
53 – Other than losing my mother-in-law, this was a fairly non-traumatic year, especially compared to the last two. Mother Nature still takes her toll (I regularly feel there’s some rotator cuff surgery in my future), but she’s not kicking my butt quite so hard this year. My wife, however suffered her 50th birthday this year. I tried to soften the blow with a surprise trip to see Odysseo.
54 – Don’t know. Starts today. But I will let you know next year.

Many thanks to Mom and [Dad], not only for bringing me into this world, but also for saving all those pictures from decades ago.

Ten years ago I wrote about just on of those lost, photographer Bill Biggart: ‘I’m OK, I’m with the firemen’: In Memory of Bill Biggart.

“The photographer was Bill Biggart, who was killed at the age of 54 when the North Tower collapsed. This long convoluted essay is meant to honor him, and to tell how his story powerfully affected me, in detail. Because only by telling it in detail can I get out the demon: that he made choices that I would have made had I been in his place, he did things I would have done because they seemed the safe thing to do. And he died, doing what he had to do, as I know I would have died.”