What a good election night!

My son was at Ray's bar in Brooklyn when Mamdani's victory was proclaimed, and he said the bartenders immediately blasted "New York, New York," filling everyone with weepy joy. If only Ray himself had been there to run the stereo. Here in Maine we solidly voted down a proposal to prohibit absentee ballots and voted in a red-flag gun law--a very big deal in a state with a strong gun culture. Portland raised the city's minimum wage. Democrats won large and small victories around the country. It's been a long time since we've been able to feel a little political happiness.

After my marathon work streak, I made it home last night and then T and I walked out arm in arm to the neighborhood barbecue joint, a comfortable way to settle back into town life. Today I've got a phone meeting scheduled and house stuff and reading to catch up on, but there will be airiness too. I'll go for a walk. I'll figure out dinner. I'll dig up my dahlia tubers and store them in the basement. Probably I'll be on the horn with my kid, emoting about the NYC election.

I'm very much enjoying this year's high school cohort. They arrived at the first class ready to be serious and engaged, but now they are starting to let loose and be silly together, which adds to the fun. And my car was very well behaved, which is a relief, given my looming Vermont trip. Altogether it's been a good, if hectic, week, and I am full of sap.

And my long-poem draft awaits . . .