Filling in the Blanks

I spent the weekend, as I have every weekend for the past month or so, making phone calls to swing states. Friendliest people? New Mexico. Grumpiest? Florida. Upon hearing my spiel, someone in New Mexico said, "I've gotten three calls for Obama in the past ten minutes." I said, "I'm so sorry, we're just working really hard and sometimes there's overlap." He said, "Oh, that's okay. I can tell how hard you're working and I appreciate it." The same thing happened in Florida but there the woman took the time to berate, scream, yell and slam the phone down. 

I think it's safe to say we're all feeling a bit weary at this point. Call sheets have 20. 30. 40, 50 names and numbers per sheet and for someone who still grapples with phone phobia, it's a daunting task. The kind man who owns the house on the Venice canals must be a little tired of people, weekend after weekend, entering his home, finding an available space and staying for hours on end making calls. The people in swing states are obviously growing weary of constant calls urging them to vote.  And surely Barack Obama must be delirious at this point, traveling the country, promising hope and change to a war-weary, economically shattered, emotionally depleted America.

Tonight I went to my friend's house and after dinner we played Mad Libs with her 7-year old son. We filled in verbs, nouns, adjectives and body parts and read the silly stories out loud. To say I laughed is an understatement. I giggled, cackled, snorted and doubled-over in tear streaked hysteria. Sure, the stories were funny (remind me to tell you the one about Yellowstone National Dump), but I can't help but think this was a deeper release. It was expectation, fear, joy, anticipation and hope all in one. Plus a little exhaustion thrown in for good measure.

One more day.

The new President of the United States of America is _______________.

noun