Logan and I got up at 5 am and as a result were the first two people in line at our polling place. We felt a little dumb when we were the only people standing outside a padlocked gate in the dark, but we felt less dumb around 6 when people started showing up, and we felt like big geniuses when we walked out of the place at 7:09, past a line of at least a hundred and fifty people.
I did not mind waiting to vote. I think a lot of people didn't mind. There are thousands and thousands of people still standing in line, west of here.
I want to hear a newscaster say, Huh. All that jibbajabba about "what if it's a tie" and then it turns out to be a landslide for Kerry. Who knew? I want it to be true that when America finds itself with a president who is a corrupt and ignorant liar, then a lot of America will get up early and stand in line without complaining and vote that shitmonocle out of office.
Logan said, That felt really good. I've been waiting to do that for four years. Yeah.
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Joey's difficult, but I like him. He's generally a sweet kid; the only trouble I have with him is trying to get him to shut up, which sometimes comes down to a plain-and-simple JOEY WILL YOU SHUT IT. He always shrugs and says, Well why didn't you just say so?
I was talking with him about the mock election done in his grade during school this morning (Bush won with 84%). I was carefully nonpartisan because there's no point in arguing with kids over this, and I know what I'd be in for - most of these kids' parents are painfully, aggressively Republican.
I said, So, you're going to vote for real when you grow up, right? because there's no harm in encouraging that.
He said, Well, I'll be voting in the next presidential election, for real.
I laughed and he did not laugh. He said, do the math. I did the math and I said, Oh, Joey. He's 14. He will be turning 18 on October 14, 2008. He'll vote. I got a little speechless, a little teary, not about democracy but about the fact that a 14-year-old is only four little years away from 18. I know it's just math. I know.
