I arrived at the cute little elementary school this morning amidst a drizzly chilly rain and trekked through red mud to stand in a line extending from the library down the hall and halfway to the front door. There was a nice variety of the populace represented.....black, white and some inbetween....men in business suits or work jeans, well dressed women with manicured nails...some in sweats.... high heels, workboots or sneakers and one lady in sandals despite the wet chilly weather of November...
There were older and younger, a few outrageous hairstyles, a balding gentleman, a 20 something with piercings and a large black man in a suit with a huge silver cross around his neck...one of the workers was inquiring of a young man if she knew his grandmother...she did....
Others were waiting with their young children...for some reason many schools were dismissed for the occasion...and though most were well behaved, one little boy of about 6 or 7 was crying huge sobs and begging to go home...his mother kept shushing him and possibly pinching him..:) but she didn't get out of line.... and no one asked her to...though I don't think I was alone in feeling relieved when they departed.
One lady seemed to be having some problem and had to wait for the workers to get more information on her....some were commenting that the crowd had grown from previous years...one was speculating as to the technology of the new ballot machines....
Cell phones were banned so it was rather quiet (an unusual environment in public place these days...) but sample ballots and amendments were provided for our reading enjoyment...
As I looked around that elementary school library tears filled my eyes....here we stood...the heart and soul of America...a living picture of freedom. Today we were democracy in action...my heart swelled with pride...
After 45 minutes I walked out of that school....a proud participant in our democratic process....
I did it! I voted!
I hope you do
9 comments:
I always took my daughter w/ me to vote. I wanted her to know what it felt like, the lines, the people, the random chatter...she even pulled ballot levers for me (and eventually help me cast my vote on the new touch screen computers). I wanted her to feel comfortable so that when she is old enough, she will be a regular voter!
Yep! I'm absentee or else I would be like the woman with the sobbing child (LOL!). But yes, what a wonderful opportunity we have. We're blessed.
i did
I was there when the doors opened at 7am! Now I'm looking forward to no more recorded phone messages and campaign commercials...they were the worst!
this was awesome. a much more inspiring view on voting than mine! i love your heart.
I LOVE your photo and story! What a great experience to share. I just got back - the voting was secondary to the conversation I had with my daughter's friend who is a teacher. She needed someone to talk to about her ailing mom and we talked, she cried and I was so glad I took the time to vote - you never know, do you?
I did it. But with sadness. Neither gub candidate is an inspiration. Don't believe in either of them. Fla is sad. Insurance is killing us all. All the politicians's pockets are lined with insurance companies contributions.
Sorry. We are just very sad and feeling very helpless. . . except for prayer that God will have His way with all the injustice of the situation.
We are blessed to be able to vote...but I am sad at a lot of what was voted for this election for our state - but holding that God is in CONTROL - and praying for the best.
Glad you voted...voting can be so important!
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