A Week With No Media...What Could I Have Missed?

I guess I'll start by vowing that I already know who I am voting for in the upcoming Presidential election. As such, I haven't been as concerned about missing all of the convention coverage over the last week and a half. Why, you ask? Don't you want to be politically aware?? Of course I do. Let me start with last week...

After a weekend spent camping, followed by a Monday afternoon / night adventure in a beer bus that conveniently took me to and from a Tiger's game (surrounded mainly by democrats, mind you), a Tuesday of I don't know what (sleep and laundry, perhaps), and a Wednesday of dinner & trivia with Angela and Eric, followed by picking up a 15-passenger van, dropping off a letter to Sheryl (we met at Panera in Frandor, where I conveniently "parked" by pulling in perpendicularly to three spots just so I wouldn't have to put the van in reverse) and having Joel and Renee arrive from Chicago to spend the night before heading to Canada, I just didn't manage to squeeze in much time for politics. My bad.

I left for Canada last Thursday morning. We have no media access there - no television, no newspaper (by choice), no cell phone signals. Our music is mainly provided by ipods. While most people I know would go into convulsions at the mere thought, let alone the reality, I embrace this time so much. I didn't completely avoid political talk - among the group of five who made the trip, we had several discussions about politics. When Renee and I made the daily trip into town for supplies, we stopped to buy blueberries and maple syrup from the old guy in the parking lot of the auto parts store. He has his stand in the same parking lot each year, and is one of the sweetest men ever! Upon hearing our incredibly strong accents, he engaged us in a little discussion, and upon hearing our lefty leanings, praised us for our views. He also commented that the US and Canada need to act as one country and stop taxing each other (okay?!?). Later that day, as Renee and I were swimming across the lake and back, we had a boater stop to see if we were okay. And he, upon hearing our incredibly strong accents, also asked what we thought about the upcoming election. We chatted with him for a bit while treading water in the middle of the lake, and were both struck by the notion that if most Americans stumbled upon some Canadians in the US, the Americans wouldn't have the first clue as to Canadian politics (me included!). Yet the Canadians are overwhelmingly informed on the happenings in the States. Perhaps Canada needs a little more drama.

So, upon returning home, I returned calls from Mom and my brother, Jamie. Mom filled me in on McCain's running mate by telling me she's a mother of five, has a newborn with Down's Syndrome, an 18-year old heading to Iraq, and an unmarried pregnant 17-year old, apparently confirming that her abstinance policies aren't followed at home. I don't remember the details about the other two children. After an hour on the phone with my family, I finally turned on the TV to none other than the 11pm airing of the Daily Show, complete with coverage of the RNC! So after almost a week with no media whatsoever, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I know I'll get back into the swing of things and catch up on some of what I've missed (starting with a lot of blog-reading, I'm sure!). But man, it was nice to get away from it for a while!