Early voting started today in my state, and I went to the polling place as fast as my chubby old legs could transport me, so that I could declare my choice for our next President of the United States: Kamala Harris (“,La”). At 76 years old, I didn’t want to kick-the-bucket (it could happen) before I got a chance to vote in the second most consequential presidential election of my lifetime. Not taking any chances.
The voting experience was exhilarating and after returning home, I got a little weepy at the awesomeness of it all, which caused me to write a letter to my three-year-old granddaughter for her to read after I’ve escaped this third planet from the sun.
Dear Boo-Boo* (a.k.a., The Pink Goddess):
Today I did something monumental—today I voted to preserve your future as a woman, as a human being, as a person of color, and as an IVF miracle baby blessed by God. Hopefully, I’ll live a good long life, and you won’t need to open this letter until your mid-teens or maybe even your early twenties. After Kamala becomes our first female president of color, I plan to ask your parents if I can take you to the White House when you’re five years old (during Kamala Harris’ first of two terms—yes, Lord Jesus!) so that you can give her a huge embrace and make her acquaintance by saying: “Hello Madam President, my name is Boo-Boo*, and this is my Mema. Thank you for answering the call to save our democracy, and leave me a country where I can someday become President.” (I know you’ll speak like that at five years old, because you practically do so now at three years old—you brilliant little rock star!)
You’ll be too young at five years old for me to describe how awful things were in 2024 as our country careened toward an existential crisis from a 34-count-felon, an incessant liar, a racist, an accused rapist, and a sexist who had the worst character of the highest demon from Hell who was trying to occupy the Office of the President for the second time. (Hundreds of honorable people who had worked with him during his term as President categorically declared him unfit to serve again!) The worst part of it all is that people who claimed to be “children of God” (lovers of Jesus) had fallen under this cult-leader’s spell. He had convinced a great deal of them that he was God’s gift to our country, and that whoever voted for him would be doing God’s will, but whoever voted against him for Kamala Harris were agents of the devil. It got so bad that even your very own Mema had to write a book of protest (House of Oz Undone [a cautionary tale]) to try and wake folks up before it was too late. It still gives me chills when I reflect on those days when we almost lost our reproductive rights, our voting rights, our LGBTQ+ rights, our humanity, and our souls.
The good news is: Kamala Harris won the presidency because everybody was tired of the Liar in Chief’s lies and retrograde ideas and fear-mongering. She started out by kicking his ass in a debate performance that was bar none, and then she continued to school his sorry behind every time he spouted another lie.
While Trump pouted and acted like a petulant teenager, Kamala Harris and her delightful running mate Tim Walz won us over by mainly being mature, kind, and intelligent adults who demonstrated that they were capable of doing the job and moving us forward as a nation.
So, Kiddo, as you look back on history from your perch as one of the young adults who will inherit our great country someday, remember that your Mema and others like her helped our great land dodge a demonic bullet by overwhelmingly electing a woman of color who had the courage to take on a Goliath who was a convicted felon, a consummate liar, and a narcissistic bully who wanted to drag us backwards into a dystopian Hell.
(From my lips to God’s ears!)
*Boo-Boo is a pseudonym to protect the innocent.
CHECK OUT WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT “HOUSE OF OZ UNDONE” by Eleanor Tomczyk:
“House of Oz Undone is a brilliant venture through today’s societal themes. Setting out to find their home, heart, brain, and courage, a group of unlikely friends dissects the political and religious chaos they encounter traveling down the Yellow Brick Road. Funny, creative, and a little crazy, this book will have readers in hysterics.” —Kathryn Dare, San Francisco Book Review
“The incredible writing of the Divine Eleanor opens hearts and minds to the true loving inclusiveness of our God and dispels the thoughts of meanness, prejudice, and worship of money and power that seems to have taken hold of so many minds In our country today…..Thank goodness for those like this dear woman who not only see so clearly what is wrong here now, but also has the talent to use her creative writing to open eyes and ears to the truth….May God Bless her and the America she seeks to help return to sanity and love….Thank You….(You will love this book!).”—Amazon Review
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Eleanor Tomczyk is a memoirist and humorist blogger renowned for her engagingly funny musings as an ex-Evangelical Conservative Christian (emphasis on the “ex”) and African-American Baby Boomer. Embarking on a new career as a storyteller at 60, she draws on her experiences in White Conservative churches. Now in her mid-70s and a wife, mother, and grandmother, Tomczyk has authored books such as Monsters’ Throwdown, Fleeing Oz, The Fetus Chronicles: Podcasts to My Fetus-self, and House of Oz Undone: A Cautionary Tale. She also runs a weekly humorous political blog titled “How the Hell Did I End Up Here?” Her multifaceted career also spans roles as a singer, actress, motivational speaker, and award-winning voice-over artist.
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how the hell did i end up here? 