Damn pleasant

Petey drove by our new polling place at 7 this morning and the traffic was lined up 1/4 of a mile outside of the parking lot. I waited till ten--a slow time at the polls and in an effort to not add to the potential car congestion I rode my bike.

It is such a lovely fall day here in Washtenaw County. Unusually warm and bright, colorful leaves and blue skies. A great day for bike ride. I was filled with HOPE as I peddled past the three McCain signs on my route. I knew there were more Obama mama's a mere 2.9 miles away. I would flaunt my rainbow handle bar streamers and my crazy green ways, maybe set an outrageous example of independent thought for the folks who vote in the way of their grandparents. I took perverse pleasure in the sheer number of Green Party candidates listed on the ballot. I smiled as I filled in my bubbles.

Still... It was beyond weird to not go to Estabrook--I have been voting at Estabrook since 1994. I have even judged and observed voters there. But today at Roberto Clemente Elementary--I simply stood in line between one 20 something goober (I shall call him Bubba) and his mom (they completely epitomized the uneducated rural stereotype) and an 18 year old who was voting for her first time. The pride in her mom's face was evident and tho Matt and I didn't have the added drama of helping someone from our race to make history, I do remember the first time HE voted. It is right of passage. I felt all warm and fuzzy when the new voter slipped her ballot into the machine and the workers applauded. Quickly the whole room joined their applause and we welcomed her into adulthood.

I didn't recognize any of the worker's faces (in contrast I knew everybody by name at Estabrook; and in fact could predict how they voted from their yard signs!) but I was pleased to see that there was huge range of voters, soccer Moms w/toddlers in tow, elderfolk, quite a few ladies wearing hijab. Several leathery farmer types--it was comforting that they weren't all "Bubba" types who thought voting for medical marijuana was gonna let them get high legally. Nope, my new neighbors seem pretty damn diverse, and pleasant. The last time I got to experience a huge group of suburbanites was at the TWP meeting for the park last winter. THEY seemed rather...mmm... homogenous.

within 25 minutes I was sporting a new "I VOTED" sticker and was unlocking my bike for the quick trip home.

I can't wait to watch the results roll in. I have a little worm of worry. We have a lot of McCain signs around here. I KNOW that A2 is gonna be solid--but it will be exciting nonetheless.