(Photo by Tim Eckel)
I woke up this morning with a joy hangover.  Thirty- six hours of continuous smiling has taken its toll.

The American voters have spoken and their choice is Barack Obama.  All the struggle, all the marches, all the legislation has finally brought us to this day.

When the election was called at 8pm, Pacific Standard Time, I felt the tears begin to fall, and at the same moment, began receiving emails from all over the country and abroad, just a few words from each, but I marveled at the power to share this moment with long lost friends, some not seen since the late '60s.  All these years later we could find one another and say, "Yes."

My daughters called me from New York, laughing and crying, and held their cell phones up so I could hear the joyous outcry. As we talked, they described a gospel choir spilling out of a church into the streets of Brooklyn, snaking into the cheering throngs.