November 6th

November 6th has always been a milestone date in my modeling career.  It was on this date in 1984 that I modeled for my first life drawing class.  Modeling Session Number One was for a Tuesday night drop-in session at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.  I had attended that session as an "artist" a couple of times before when I had been considering modeling, and I had given my name and number to the moderator as a potential model.  He called me just an hour or two before that session was due to start, just as I was about to go eat at the cafeteria, and asked me to model.  After swallowing the lump in my throat, I said OK.  My appetite suddenly gone, I took a long walk around campus and arrived at the art studio just a bit early.  The moderator wasn't able to attend, but there were two ladies there to draw.  I was somewhat relieved that it would be such a small class.  A more detailed description of that experience can be found here.

Just like that November 6th 28 years ago, today is a presidential election day.  In 1984, Ronald Reagan easily won re-election over Walter Mondale.  Even though I was only 18 years old, I was a big Reagan fan.  Before receiving that first model booking, I had been looking forward to sitting back in the TV room at my dorm and watching the election returns, confident that Reagan would win.  I remember really liking him way back when I was 10 years old, watching his concession speech at the 1976 Republican National Convention after Gerald Ford had won the nomination.  I guess I've always favored lower taxes and smaller government.

This year's election presents something of a dilemma for me.  I neither like nor trust either of the major party candidates.  I voted for the Libertarian Party candidate, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.  I don't agree with him on everything, but I've had a chance to meet him and talk with him and believe that he is, by far, the most qualified and best suited candidate for the job.

Realistically, I know that either Romney or Obama is going to win the presidency.  And in my state, it is a forgone conclusion that Romney will win the 36 electoral votes up for grabs here.  So my vote for Governor Johnson amounts to a mere protest vote--a protest against the ever-increasing power of the state, the status quo, and the lack of a trustworthy Republican candidate.  And yet, of the two, I have to root for Romney.  The Obama presidency has been an abysmal failure, and considering the damage over the last four years to our economy and to the limits on government that were specified in the Constitution, I cringe at the thought of what an Obama who doesn't have to worry about getting re-elected would do.  And when I really think about it, I'm amazed that Obama has a chance of winning, given the current state of our country and of the economy.  I guess that is just a testament to how lackluster the Republican candidate really is.

But the best thing about Election Day is that tomorrow the political ads will all be gone from the airwaves.