In My Life

Posted by Chris Campbell at Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Having passed the middle mark of October, I am now less than one month shy of my 35th birthday. As I typed that, it still remains absolutely astounding to me that I am a few weeks away from my 35th birthday. Those close to me won't hesitate to note that I still act as if I'm way short of the 35 mark. For one, on occasion, I still like to go out and drink a bunch with my friends. Secondly, it can be argued that I still claim to be "finding myself" as far as my career aspirations. When it comes to marriage and children, despite being with the girl of my dreams, I'm still "figuring things out". I won't deny any of these. Although I feel as if life has become much more clear over the past few years, there are basics that I'm still working out.

With three-plus decades under my belt, and much of my life to be determined, I have been reflecting on some of the most important external events of my life. See, we all have our passions, whether it be relative to sports, our family, writers, or any slew of things that grab hold of us and trigger something that we can't rightly explain. For almost three decades the New York Yankees have held onto something inside of me. Every season brings on questions and uncertainties, but as the season rolls on, I'm following game-by-game. I saw Tino Martinez hit that home run against he Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series. I witnessed David Wells' perfect game. And each of these events grabbed me and remain in the forefront of my memories. I saw my sister get married. I watched two of my favorite bands, Wilco & The Jayhawks, perform together in a damn zoo in Cincinnati in 1996. I stood with a few hundred supporters in a New York bar as John Kerry pummeled the competition in the democratic primary. These are only a speckle of the things that I've seen or experienced that meant the world to me.

But this is all different. It's quite likely that my time here is just about half over, and with half-a-lifetime behind me, in nineteen days I will experience the most important day of my lifetime. Despite living a somewhat comfortable life, for reasons I can't eloquently explain, I have always sided with the less fortunate. I've never completely understood the pull of the republican party. Aside from ludicrous fabrications to the less fortunate, and fawning to the elite, I've never quite grasped how the right wins national elections. But this year is different. Barack Obama is different. When I grew up, I often heard about John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his ability to pull the nation together in a time of need. As much as I admire JFK, Barack Obama seems all that much more. As each week elapses, I'm amazed at his honesty, candor, guts and desire to take the helm.

I now look to Tuesday, November 4th. And I keep replaying the following line in my head: President elect, Barack Obama. And every time those four words travel across my mind, I get a chill. I can now say without a moment of hesitation that the potential reality of those four words will represent the greatest moment of my life, and there's no question about it. I have never wanted something more, and the mere thought of an Obama presidency evokes tears in my eyes. Set the cliches aside, Barack Obama is absolutely ready to lead this nation, and there's no question about his abilities. This election is a no-brainer. And my passion here has absolutely nothing to do with me, and everything to do with us.