By David Himmel

• The thing I’m most concerned about with the election is not the outcome, it’s the reaction to it. Either way, one side is going to lose their shit. And who among us has the energy for that? I can avoid social media. I can avoid the news, but I don’t want to avoid the news. We have to approach the outcome with pragmatism, not emotional upheaval. A ship doesn’t sink because of the water around it. It sinks from the water inside of it. We cannot let what happens around us consume us inside and pull us down. Which is to say, we are best to remain calm, move on, find a better way to fight forward.

• When your kids are young, trick-or-treating with them is as much about them collecting the candy as it is you fattening their candy pails up for your late-night snack raids.

• Occasionally, an all-night bender of intense writing is just the kind of torture you need.

• If we truly believe in a united United States of America, then no matter who wins the presidency, we all lose.

• Disagreements can be the most important ingredient to the best outcome. It’s called collaboration.

• Sometimes, tragedy hits you like a train. Sometimes that’s hyperbole, sometimes it just leaves you as pink dust.