If Winter Is Coming

I don't want to make this devastating moment small by comparing it to popular culture.

But in Game of Thrones, they say, "Winter is coming."

Well, "Winter is here."

Yet there's a deep moment I want to share. It lasted two minutes, early last night, on the street where politicians like the mayor spoke from a stage to the throngs. An older woman sat in the ADA area. She began crying silently, weeping. Then, she took her cane, raised herself up from a folding chair, and began to limp away. Because she was ADA, she had a straight path out past the fenced in crowd. She went from the sidewalk full of bright stadium lights into the looming shadow of the Javits Convention Center where she became barely visible -- but not engulfed by the shadow.

Yes, she was crestfallen. She knew what was happening long before almost anyone else did. But even as she limped, she limped quickly and with a strength. I am not very optimistic right now. I think a majority has embraced fear over hope. But that woman, despite her tears - she is a survivor. As she walked away, my sadness didn't deepen. And watching her, I felt the tiniest tinge of optimism.

​She is a survivor. I am a survivor. Even though it may not feel that way right now, we are all survivors. And some of us, who are fighters, however sad, will try to fight. It's all that we can do: survive, and when our heads are clearer, speak out and fight for what we value in our Constitution and in our hearts. Even after yesterday. Even in winter.