'Cause my momma told me so

She really did. She called me at work to ask me if I'd seen the commercial with Edie Falco in it. Once I got over being flabbergasted that she knows who Edie Falco is -- she's not what you could even remotely call a fan of The Sopranos -- I was immediately interested when she described it because while I hadn't seen it, I think Ms. Falco kicks ass.

And now she's all MOBbed up, for real. The commercial is there, if you want to see it. I figure about half of you will run in the opposite direction, based on opinions you've expressed, but I respect that. I don't understand it, but I respect it.

I received something else somewhat related in my e-mail today. I believe I mentioned quite a while ago that I belong to MoveOn.org. I can't say that I 100% support all the actions they espouse, and it's not something in which I have actively taken a role or to which I have contributed time or money. But I can say that up to now it has, if nothing else, gotten me more involved in contacting the Congress members in my area about issues that matter to me. The organization makes it very easy to do that through e-mail campaigns and it has led to my receiving more information from the two main ones, which I appreciate.

Today I got a message letting me know about candlelight vigils that will be held across the country tomorrow night in honor of the 1,000+ soldiers that have been killed in Iraq in service to the U.S. Attending an event like this is not something that I have ever done. I may be, to some, a bleeding-heart liberal but my heart tends to bleed unseen under my sleeve because I am, for the most part, a private person. I can't tell you why (and not just because I'm being private!) but I want to go.

Maybe because I want to do something and I feel pretty impotent about fomenting change in my community, let alone my country. Maybe because supporting the troops but not supporting why they're there needs an outlet right now. Maybe because the parents, spouses, lovers and children of the members of our military services who have died should know that those of us who haven't lost someone care about their loved ones and are affected by their loss. Maybe because I need to feel a part of something right now, and to see that there are other people who might share that feeling.

Oh, and maybe because as I discovered yesterday, I've gotten my "second wind" on the political thing to some degree. Just in time with only 54 more days to go!

And because I will definitely be voting --and I have a feeling that you will be, too -- it's the American way to be rewarded for that, isn't it? So go here and see if we can't both be rewarded.