Adventures in Voting

I waited in line over two hours to vote today, but I gotta say... totally worth it!

Yeah, it would have been nice if the voting stations had been set up at 6 AM instead of, oh, 6:45.

And if the electronic ballot machines had been working from the get-go.

And if that ancient election judge who, every election, manages to co-opt the registration books didn't take forever and a day to pull people's cards. (I wish someone would pay this guy to not be an election judge!)

But I got to have a very nice conversation with a 7th grade social studies teacher about this and that. Yesterday, the 7th graders at her school participated in a mock election. Obama beat McCain, 583 to 9. How's that for a landslide?

She was a Lisa, too, incidentally. So was the woman immediately behind me. How's that for weird?

As frustrated as everyone was by the long wait, there was a positive energy to it all. Nobody stomped off yelling, "Screw this, I'm not voting!"

How many things are so important that we're willing to put aside everything else and stand in line for as long as it takes? When we have the choice? I wouldn't wait two hours in a grocery line, or amusement park line, or anywhere else I can think of.

I'm proud of all the voters, those who braved long lines the past few weeks, who decided nothing was more important than standing in line for as long as it took to cast their vote.

I haven't decided yet whether I'll watch the returns come in. I think I might watch Heroes on Hulu instead!