My vote (Presidential Election 2008)
It was a perfect day to get out and vote. It went up to 70 degrees in Detroit (in November!), and you only needed a light jacket for the breeze. There was no rain, nor clouds. It was bright and sunny.
So, I went to the polling place with my dad. There was a long line when we got there, but they house three or four precincts, and the line was not for our precinct. That did not stop a few people from nearly jumping us and telling us that we needed to wait in line. Wow! Give peace a chance. Finally a nice lady in line stepped in and told us that there was a desk where we could check and see where to go. The people at the desk told us to go straight down and we voted with no line.
Now, I am sure that I have more education than most of the people in the church where I voted, but I was probably the stupidest looking one there when I spoiled my ballot. I mean, who does that? You see crackheads, drunks, and high people in the place voting (at least you do where I vote) and they do not even spoil their ballots. You should have seen the look on the face of the guy recording the ballot numbers in the log when his coworker told him I needed a new ballot.
It was totally a mistake. I got carried away when filling in circles for one group and started filling in the blank one by accident. I got a new ballot, and the lady by the ballot feeder was nice about it and made me feel better.
At that point, I went to my parent’s house where there was a virtual mini reunion. All but one of my brother and sisters were there. So, to show our spirit and pride, me and a couple of my sisters and nieces took a picture together sporting our “My vote counted!” stickers. I included both because of the fun my youngest niece is having with the flag. She somehow found this flag behind some of her toys at my parent’s house, and appropriately pulled it out today to play with. When I got there, I took the flag and started singing “Living in America.” She was so amused by this that she made me sing it over and over again for the rest of the day.
Now that our votes are cast, and some states still need to vote and tally, we just wait. At the time of this writing, Obama 175 electoral votes, McCain 46. Obama won the great state of Michigan.
Fun fact: The profile picture to the right of this post is a cropped shot from the day that I voted in the 2006 Michigan Gubernatorial Election. Yes, I take pictures after I vote. I know how much of a blessing it is to even be able to vote, and I know how much my ancestors went through so that I could have that blessing. Not only am I proud to have the privilege, but proud to exercise it as well. So, I document it with pictures. I like the stickers, too.
I thought this year’s stickers were lame, though. I prefer the “I voted! Did you?” stickers from previous years.
In ’07, I not only voted, but got a library card in the same day! I wanted it so that I could take advantage of the year of free museum tickets, which ended last month. Unfortunately, I only went to maybe two or three museums during the whole year, and I still never made it to the Motown Museum. It was, then, kind of a waste, since I do not really use the library to check out things. I have always been an avid reader, but the thought of used books kind of grosses me out. So, anyway, on with the pictures:






Comments