When I Need A Pick Me Up, by my friend Ryan King

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Grinning Like A Loon

My polling place was about the size and a half of my room. I don't understand that. I thought Inwood was a big neighborhood. Maybe it's because voter turnout is not the grand adventure I thought it was? Or maybe Inwood has more than one polling place. My little place had three districts in it. Maybe other places have three or more. Or less.

The voting booth has easily seen several hundred Presidential elections. Big red lever to crank once to the right, then flip about half dozen little black flippers about the size of half my finger, then ratchet the red lever back to the left. This tallies votes how exactly? What did the little black flippers do, punch a hole in a scorecard? I say scorecard because I do remember something about hanging chads a bit ago, and so I figured...

But whatever. The Good Shepherd polling place saw my attendance this morning. So did about two score voters. Hispanic, white, black, male, female. Some more talkative than others to help me find the correct table to approach and verify my registration. Volunteers manning the tables, door, and booths with no particular people skills, but the dedication to show up.

I've done this before. For every election since Reagan. Including Reagan. But for some reason, leaving out of my polling center today, my face split in a poop-eating grin.

Grinning like a loon.

8 comments:

Ned Hodgson said...

It's a secret ballot, so I won't ask who you voted for.

Me said...

I'll tell you if you PLEDGE YOUR UNDYING FEALTY TO ME!!! BOW BENEATH THE PRESSURE OF MY BENEFICENCE!!! FILM YOURSELF DANCING TO "NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP" by RICK ASTLEY!!!

MUAHAHAHAAAAHHAAAA!!!!

Me said...

I'll tell you if you PLEDGE YOUR UNDYING FEALTY TO ME!!! BOW BENEATH THE PRESSURE OF MY BENEFICENCE!!! FILM YOURSELF DANCING TO "NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP" by RICK ASTLEY!!!

MUAHAHAHAAAAHHAAAA!!!!

Shades of Scorpio said...

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think of you as I filled in the circle with my special superhero pen at the polls.

Yes, we reverted back to filling in the bubble. Completely.

I have OCD so extra special care was taken on my bubble.

Me said...

Ohhh...! And I totally thought of you too. Because of :d00t:, for better or worse, I now think of you when I go into my neighborhood. I think of running into you by chance, the way I think of running into Manhattan'sPeak.

Just the whole voting thing has got be so in love with my white family who Accept change. I'm like Sally Field at Oscar time.

Thank you Shades! Thank you Ned. Thank you Alex. Thank you Nate. Thank you Cyber D. Thank you Q. Thank you Tom. Thank you Dagromm. Thank you to, my expatriots of the heart, Trixie and Geovanie.

Me said...

oops! I totally assumed Geovanie is white. My bad. But if you are ... thanks! And I'll throw in a thanks to Scott, even though he won't vote our way, he respects us and understands us.

And he likes me. so there's that! :-)

GrizzBabe said...

OMG! That voting machine sounds like it is from the Dark Ages. I voted via a touch screen. It was like buying groceries in the self checkout lane only in lieu of payment, we stuck a card with a magnatic strip in the screen to record our votes. Although I did wish I had that big curtain for privacy.

Anonymous said...

Lol, I'm actually Hispanic, but I accept the compliment in any case! Thanks a bunch! I've noticed that this election seems to be one that everyone in the States (at least that I know) are particularly happy about. One of my friends stated that he voted with "hope instead of resignation" so I definitely hope that everything works out for the best!

But then I'm in Canada, so I'm keeping an eye ;)