It was a gorgeous day today - high 60's, sunny, fall color still abounding. A lovely day to extend my lunch hour and have my sandwich (peanut butter with bacon salt on whole wheat) and a Miller Chill outside the community center, yakking it up with the neighbors.
Just like I thought voting day should be!
So after I did my own civic duty, I went outside and set up shop with my concert poster clipped to a lawn chair, bowls of red and blue tootsie pops at the ready, my cooler & sandwich in hand. Bring it on, I'm ready to tailgate!
I was close to the Community Center, sort of in between the two precincts that were voting there. Several people asked my "how do I know which precinct I'm in?", and of course, I knew. (since I had to ask the same question myself.) So that produced some conversations (and customers for the red or blue pops.)
People came and went, quickly, though. I would time them coming in from the parking lot until they got back. The longest was 10 minutes. Most were 5-7. Lines? What lines?
Met some new people. A 40ish guy named Bob and I chewed the fat for a half-hour or so. Met a thirty-something guy named Bill who lives a few blocks from me on my running path. He moved from Oregon where there are no polling places at all. None. All there is done by mail. So he appreciated the community nature of what was going on.
Then there was Trish, a late-20s mom of a preschooler, and Sandy & Laurie, a couple of fun-loving seniors. And it went on and on like that from 11:30 to 1:30.
Not a lot of evidence of youth vote, but as D reminded me... they're asleep at this time of day! They'll come later. Still, a college age couple with facial piercing and spiky hair stopped and took a pic of my poster, jealous that I got tickets and they didn't. :P
Aww... have a tootsie. You'll feel better about it.
My "customers" ranged from 3 to 73, from punks to geriatrics, from businessmen on cell phones to moms & kids in minivans. It was a swell time, and it felt festive! The candy helped.
Sandy caught on to my candy methodology. She says "you're counting these afterwards, aren't you? You know how many were in the bowls to start with. You sneaky boy..."
Well... maybe. I'll never tell. ;)
Anyway, it was fun to go shopping for Halloween candy at 75% off, and spend 6 bucks for a few hundred of these things. Republican red, Democrat blue, and for the Third Party voters... chocolate. :) The orange ones I kept. They're in my lounge as added decor.
And based on my highly unscientific method of tootsie pop exit polling... the blues won the day here.
2 comments:
My paradigms- my paradigms! First going to Mass, then voting Democratic, now candy from strangers- and handing it out no less!? What next- not looking both ways when crossing the street, touching hot stove tops?! Sheesh
;-) Got some new stuff on iTunes- yeah baby! I'll let you know if it's any good- we don't have speakers on Daniel's computer, so it is a bit of a gamble- but got a mix- some techno (Justice, MSTRKRFT, & LCD Soundsystem), a Tom Waits wannabe- a Micah P. Hinson (?), punk- the Blue Bloods, & downtwon chic (a la Interpol) Kubichek! Do u like Interpol? I love them & their bassist is Christina's baby daddy- I've got all their albums- can you transfer songs from one's itunes library to another itunes library? Rock the vote baby! This is the first time I've ever voted Democrat, but one must remember that God isn't exactly a dyed in the wool Democrat Himself. . .luv, kitten
Somehow I don't remember exactly saying that I voted Democratic. :) Just because I donated, and had a sticker on my car...
What I will say is this: standing there in that voting booth, with only God looking on, what I *did* vote was...
my conscience.
Finally got to a place of peace with how to spend my one little vote. And, no... I'm not telling. ;)
And no fair asking your mother. :P
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