Watson Wire

Intentional Grounding

Friday, October 03, 2008

Cooper Kyle Watson, our eighth grader, is what a loving father might call a happy kid with a good sense of humor.  A less-charitable dad might call him a smart aleck.

I call him grounded.

Last weekend, most of Austin enjoyed the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival – just an awesome amount of music and music lovers in the middle of a big urban park.  For a 13-year-old kid (or a much older adult, for that matter) it’s a three-day, well, festival.

Coop was psyched for it.  He went on Friday after school.  He also spent the whole day there on Sunday.

But on Saturday, he took time out to go with his dear old dad to the local college football game.  On the way, he excitedly described the bands from the day before.  For some reason I can’t explain, I felt the need to give a brief lecture on how lucky a child he is.

I pointed out that he lives in a great place and, when his mom and I were his age, there was nothing – zero, nada – like the ACL Fest, where we could go with all of our friends and listen to so much music.

The boy sat quietly, letting me go on and on.  When he was sure I was finished describing the dire circumstances of a youth with such limitations, he looked over at me and said, "Dad, that’s why they called it the ‘Stone Age’."

I don’t know where he gets the smart mouth.

Ready, Set . . .

It’s probably safe to assume that those who care about politics enough to subscribe to the Watson Wire are safely registered to vote on Nov. 4 – either that, or they’re just really fascinated by the exploits of my mocking children.

So this reminder isn’t really for most of you all.  It’s for your friends, your acquaintances, your kids (the "adult" ones, anyway), your kids’ friends, and – yes – even your Facebook friends.

The deadline to register to vote in next month’s election is this Monday, Oct. 6.  Make sure everyone you know – including yourself – is signed up to vote.  If you live in Travis County, you can register here and check your registration here.  If you’re somewhere else in Texas, click here.

With all of the sobering news coming from Washington and New York, this election feels more important every day.  Texas also has a lot riding on your votes, as do local jurisdictions.

Early voting begins in just over two weeks, if you can believe it.  And Election Day is just a month away.  This is a vital, historic, exciting moment to be an American.  Don’t miss out, and don’t let anyone you know miss out, on the chance to participate in it.