It took waiting in line for 2 & 1/2 hours, and my feet & back are screaming bloody murder at me, but I voted. Some schlub ahead of me couldn't; not older than maybe 22, he was registered in another state & didn't realize that early voting was not absentee. The lady behind me felt bad for him, and wondered aloud why couldn't they figure out a way to let him vote anyway since he had waited so long. I turned to her and said:
"If he had spent five minutes on the Internet, he would have gotten all the information he needed and saved himself some time."
With duty & privilege come responsibility, kid. It's a lesson I hope you do not need to learn again. Don't know in which state you are, in fact, registered to vote, but maybe if you start walking now you'll get there by Tuesday? Good luck, and see you next election.
I had some lovely conversation with a lady named Mary. She chatted about how excited she was to see so many people come out to vote (as was I, as I always am), about her recently deceased nephew, who passed away "too young" at the age of 74 (Mary is in her 90s), and about how it was very important to examine all sides of the issues. It's all about looking at different things from many different perspectives, and then being able to make up your mind. I heartily, smilingly, agreed.
We passed a lot of book shelves as we waited in line (this was at a Chicago Public Library branch in Edgewater), and Mary kept pointing out this, and that, and the other. She stopped at the Harry Potter series, took one in her hands, and asked me if I had ever read any of them. I told her that I had not.
"I haven't, either. I heard that a lot of churches were very upset about these books. I think they were concerned about corrupting impressionable children, steering them away from God."
I pondered for a moment, and replied, "Well, maybe the author just wants to show people a different perspective."
She laughed. A few minutes later, Mary looked at her watch and said that she had to leave without voting to make an evening appointment. She figures that if she sets her alarm early on Tuesday, she'll be able to vote at her regular polling place. I wished her luck.
"To you, too" She paused. "And you've got great perspective."
Don't I, though?
-C.
10 years ago
2 comments:
i'm so, SO glad we have mail-in ballots in oregon! i spent a couple of hours in the comfy chair looking up endorsements on the internet and filling it in, then taking it to a dropbox on the way back from rehearsal. (i could have just put it in my mailbox, but it felt more official in the dropbox. :)
Yeah early voting! I personally will be in line in Roger's Park come Tue. I think I will bring an iPod as I doubt Mary will be up there.
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