PSA: I'd like to become a Vowell.

A few months ago, friend Marc said to me, "you're Sarah Vowell." Then he made me read two of her books.

I scoffed: "But she's so patriotic! It's like her religion! I'm totally not like that."


Then I proved his point more than mine when I side-tracked everyone I knew to the Fort Indiantown Gap National Cemetery passing by into (or out of) Harrisburg. I've spent hours there by now, spread over at least five different trips, despite the fact that it's a military cemetery, and I consider myself a pacifist.


One of the draws is that the memorial reminds me of a ruined cathedral -- and I love ruins.

This weekend, I picked up The Partly Cloudy Patriot again, searching for a way to express unbridled political optimism in a grown-up essayist way, and noted the following:

Sarah Vowell went to the inauguration in 2000, despite being anti-Bush, and cried at the ceremony.

She also was a member of an online political group -- then via email, since "Town Hall" technology didn't exist yet -- that tracked the campaign, especially during the final days to the election.

I joined an online political group this year, and though I didn't go to the inauguration, I was this close to it.

So while I'm not Sarah Vowell, the only way I can really, honestly end that sentence these days, is "yet."