MATTHEW BURNETTE

Staff Writer

Making my way to work through the fog-shrouded landscape on a chilly morning recently, I had to squint my eyes to be able to clearly see where I was going. The first 15 minutes of my commute was like this.

I couldn’t see much past my hood and found myself concerned that someone’s stray animal or a car without its headlights on may cross my path as I tried to decipher my surroundings.

As I came up the large hill on Highway 53 coming out of Woodbury, most commonly referred to in part of the woods as “The Hill,” the fog dissipated almost instantaneously.

I went from not being able to see anything to being able to see everything in what seemed like the crispest and most vibrant details. That was a view that I see every morning on my way to the office, but not being able to see previously made this morning’s view almost immaculate.

This could possibly be the first time “The Hill” has been described that way.

While being blown away by the Fall colors, I happened to look over and see the drivers on the other side of the road. They were beginning to hunch over into the “I can’t see anything through this fog” position that I had just found myself in moments before.

To me, the juxtaposition between me on the way up the hill and the drivers on the other side of the road going down seemed like the perfect image coming out of Election Day.

Some folks woke up the morning after and rejoiced in the results from then night before. They’ve spent the last couple of years in a metaphorical fog of uncertainty where nothing seemed right and they had to find their way through moments of darkness.

They’re now at the top of the hill, and they’ve seen the fog clear.

The folks on the other side of the road have spent the last couple of years feeling pretty great. Things have gone their way for the most part and they’ve seen things happen that they agree with and would like to have more of.

They’re headed into a fog now and things suddenly seem rather bleak.

Me, I’m standing on the side of the road and observing how everyone else navigates their way up and down it.

I always tend to lean a little more towards optimism. That’s not to say I’m happy with what happened on Election Day. As a side of the road person, I try not to tell anyone how to drive. It’s just always been my philosophy that it can’t be that bad.

Life’s full of curveballs. Moments that we cherish. Events we hope never happen again. But despite anything that happens, the world keeps moving. We all still have to get out of our respective beds and find our way through the day ahead.

With the country turning 250 back in July, it’s abundantly evident that it’s seen a lot of leaders throughout the years of different thoughts and backgrounds. This country’s seen just about everything there is to see.

We’ve all had our seasons of agreement with the folks in charge, and we’ve all been through times where we have a seemingly recitation of the phrase “Are you kidding me?” when watching the news of the day.

Yet, we keep going.

With one step at a time and by the grace of God, we somehow and some way keep on trucking along. That must be that good ol’ American ingenuity people try to say we don’t have anymore.

No matter what’s happened on the first Tuesday in November during the entire history of this country, the sun has always risen on the first Wednesday.

That means there’s an opportunity to look ahead. To look towards the future and see what it may hold. To try to make the world better if you want to or to revel in the newfound assurance you’ve recently gained.

If you’re the one coming out of the fog, enjoy it and just know that there eventually may be another patch ahead. If you’re driving into it, do your best to navigate it and maybe you’ll find yourself out of it eventually.

Either way, try not to swerve and hit the guy on the side of the road.