Mandatory Post-Election Post

 So I voted!  Or at least I think I did. I chose to participate in the early voting the week before the mid-term elections. I clearly remember sliding up to a little fold-out machine in the grocery store hard by the produce section and the in-store florist. I was particularly inspired by the leftover pumpkins, some cucumbers, and the bags of mixed nuts, all of which reminded me of various candidates I know.

But funny thing, it hardly seems like I actually exercised my constitutional right because by the time the actual election day, Tuesday, rolled around I found myself going  about my normal stuff (prepare for and teach class, work on my novel, cook dinner, do some reading) Because of the rigors of this project, throughout the day and into the evening I saw no evidence of an election, heard no conversations about it, read no headlines about the predicted results, or heard any election eve analysis.

It was just another day to me.

Believe it or not, Nov. 2, 2010, felt very peaceful. The sun was shining. The air was still. It was hard to imagine anything of consequence was going on.

As for my early vote, it had already become so dim in my memory it was as if I had scratched an itch and that itch was days ago and who is going to make a mental note of such a thing?

Of course, this is no way to participate in a democracy. It's as if Rip Van Winkle did a bit of sleepwalking and in the process he cast a ballot and then he went back to sleep. Are we supposed to let a vote like that even count?

But I did vote. I'm sure I did. I have this picture...

See? Now I feel better. Even though one, two, three, four days after the results of the voting were announced I still have no idea who won, and if I were to stop and think about that I'd probably feel...

Zzzz... - V.W.


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