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Time changes things. Or at least, the lack of time changes things by rendering them trite, banal.

Ever notice when someone utters something while taking off from a red light, or on the way out the door? In my case, in the rush,  I sometimes fail to understand and respond with something all-purpose, like “You’ve got it” or “That’s correct” or “I see what you mean” or “Yes, I agree” or “Good point.”

Abraham Lincoln’s name has been in the news lately with the release of the Steven Spielberg produced  film “Lincoln.” As is portrayed in the movie, President Lincoln led our country through a low point in our history at a time when we killed over 600,000 of our own citizens during our Civil War.  He had to carry the weight of a divided country on his shoulders each day of his presidency.  

A comic strip I remember from my childhood showed Dagwood helping Blondie with the Thanksgiving dishes. He broke one, causing Blondie to say, “If you break one more plate, I won’t let you help me with the dishes any more.” And a light bulb went on in Dagwood’s speech balloon.

Would a Spanish version of the same comic strip have used a slightly different word with a slightly different meaning?

Let me explain:

Election Day was a tough one for Republicans. It was tough for our candidates, our volunteers and Gov. Martinez. Despite an investment of nearly $3 million by the governor and her related political action committees, a well-funded U.S. Senate race and an active GOP Victory operation, let’s not fool ourselves; the Republican Party frankly got wiped out.

Although Republicans had a net gain of three seats in the state Senate, we experienced a net loss of at least two in the House of Representatives, thus dashing our hopes of taking control of this chamber.