VOTE!!!

Today I stood out in the rain all morning to beg votes for a local candidate in the State Rep primary. Now, I've always hated those tools that stand there & ask you to vote for someone. I mean, I kind of already decided who I was voting for or I wouldn't be at the poll yet, duh.

Well, today I was one of those tools. I expected my own disdain to really come back to bite me on the ass today, but everyone was very nice. Even the people that refused my handout were polite. There were other folks there shilling for my candidate's opponents & you might think that would be sort of uncomfortable but it wasn't at all. Everyone was very friendly & we all stood around talking politics & generally being agreeable.

Mr. Steph was shilling for another candidate in a different district. His candidate warned volunteers that the opponent's been known to send union organizers to agitate at the polls. For me this would be entertaining & I was kind of wishing I'd volunteered in a slimier district. Mr. Steph was really looking forward to people trying to intimidate him, as ignoring people is one of his specialties. I can tell you from experience that being ignored is very irritating. He can really piss you off without saying a word & by simply doing nothing at all. It's like some sort of sick gift.

Bummer for him but nobody showed up from the opponents' camp at all. He was very bored. Except for the fact that he was snubbed by a bunch of nuns (would Jesus have ignored him? I think not, ladies) it was very uneventful. My poll had more traffic & some fellow volunteers to talk to so I wasn't really bored but it wasn't the most fun I ever had. Mostly, I watched a bunch of ducks playing in the puddles which was kind of cool. And I saw a huge hawk snatch a chipmunk. That hawk lives near me & I see him often so I've named him "Hawkie". Sometimes when I walk Rocco we disturb his hunting & he scares the hell out of us both, but I digress.

I was just glad that no one yelled at me the way they did when I made phone calls & circulated petitions for candidates. No matter what anyone says, never approach old ladies you don't know. They are very mean & like strange dogs, should be ignored unless there's a handler you can deal with directly.

It was an interesting experience & I'd probably do it again but I definitely won't make a habit out of it. If you care at all about your quality of life & the fact that politicians are making all kinds of uneducated decisions about your world, get involved. It only takes a few hours to help out a campaign, you can give as much or as little time or money as you like & you really do make a difference. Most importantly, it's for your own good.