State of the Union
Questions:
1.) What does one have to do to be the line leader for the processions into the room? I bet the chosen ones refuse to blurt, budge, and are willing to clap the occasional set of chalkboard erasers for the higher ups...
2.) There are a lot of "meet and greets" during the beginning. What if you have an awkward silence? It's not like you can say "ooo I like your suit" because they all look the same. And if you tell a lady you "like her pant suit" or "sweet skirt" you could be slapped with sexual harassment I think the safe "filler" would be "I like how quickly you stood up" or "your speed of clapping was truly top shelf."
3.) Biden went between wearing his glasses and not. I wonder how he decided that it was a "clutch" move to pull them out? I know it made me appreciate how he's aged a little more...
Observations:
1.) Obama opened with "There is much progress to report." For those Americans who are skimmers we are tempted to turn it off right now because that appears to be his "two thumbs up" summary. The rest is just going to be supporting details, right?
2.) Every man who's been president has lived the life of a bride on her wedding day.
a.) The men and women of Congress who processed in before are their flower girls.
b.) Everyone stands as he walks in and most smile as he glides down the aisle. Those with
opposing viewpoints are like the scorned lovers of the bride. They'll fake being happy, but
really they're hoping someone trips on their grand entrance. Or at least that his fly is down.
c.) He follows tradition. You know the saying "something old, something new, something
borrowed, something blue?" I think he knew what he was doing when he chose that tie.
3.) In Dante's Inferno they talk about the circles of h-e-double hockey sticks...you an spell that out...if not, it's where the devil lives. (I still refuse to swear...I'll never crack. My uncle Teddy tries to break me every family event. Each time he inquires about the hometown of the devil I quickly yell for my mommy. 26 years she comes running 90% of the time :) ) Back to my point. Being in the audience would be my personal 9th ring of h-e-double hockey sticks. I loathe conflict, awkward silences, and being forced to clap for extended periods of time without choice. As a member of the crowd you are forced to either sit silently if your "side" disagrees. If you're real hardcore you may even fold your arms. These are the "alpha audience members." They aren't above bullying either. I saw two guys sitting next to each other. One double clapped and was shot a dirty stink face from his comrade on the left. He was left trying to rationalize to this guy why he chose to half-a** a clap. He'll never make that mistake again. If you do agree, it's "State of the Union appropriate" to aggressively clap. My stamina isn't built for something of this magnitude. A 4th grade recorder concert sure, but the level of clapping needed to satisfy a State of the Union address is beyond my capabilities.
4.) He said the troops were coming home, which couldn't be more perfectly timed. Matt deploys Tuesday. Talk about a close call.
5.) There are some bold eyebrows and mustaches in the crowd...from both genders...
6.) People are sitting in the aisles on the floor. Although I'm concerned about what landed them that seat, I'm more impressed by their "criss cross applesauce" stance. They're really doing this country proud.
