This morning I spent coffee hour listening to a circle of British grad students who were dissecting swing states’ makeup and making plans to stay up late tonight to watch the election returns. It still surprises me to hear the word “Ohio” uttered in an English accent by someone who knows my government structure better than I do, but I am getting used to it, since the American Institute here houses two or three political scientists for every literature scholar.
This evening, coming back late after a choir rehearsal and social, I stopped at the grocery store and saw a young guy stack three packs of Budweiser on top of one another and carry them to the check-out while balancing a roll of Scotch tape on top. I asked, “Any connection between the tape and the beer?” To my surprise, there was: the tape was to put a map of the US on the wall and the beer was to drink while watching the election. I teased him that he’s supposed to pretend he hasn’t even noticed that the Americans were having an election, but he said, “Yeah, but, well, it’s the most powerful man in the world, really.”
Erin
Alan Schmierer