Election Eve
Most people here in the U. S. will be thrilled to have the election over with tomorrow night. I can't say that there will be nobody as thrilled as I will be, but it will be close. We are all tired of the ads and the recorded phone calls. We have all pretty much made up our minds how we are going to vote. Of course, here in California, there are a number of propositions and also seats (judicial?) for which I was not well prepared and have to say I left some of those out. I feel really responsible to pick the best candidate for any position. Ever since I regained the right to vote, after becoming a citizen, I have voted in every election, big or small. Some of the local races such as city council can have a big impact on one's life.
If you know Alan, you know that he is obsessed with the presidency, the cabinet, the Supreme Court and all that he can learn about past elections. He sets my teeth on edge with names from the past such as Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver. Lordy, I should be able to remember what offices these worthy people stood for, but I don't retain this information. I think my brain cells are running away, just the way my legs would like to, when I hear these names. Today he drew me in. "Mom, did you know that there is a school in Illinois...by now I am listening, with full attention...named after Adlai Stevenson?" I said evenly, "Alan, what kind of school is it?" "I think it's a high school." Again, I mentioned that he must not bring in the names of any former candidates into our conversation. Later, he just had to tell me that at his Actors for Autism acting class he is doing a claymation of the 2000 election. He also wants to make a clay model of the president known as "Old Rough and Ready." I am chagrined to admit that I am almost convinced that is Zachary Taylor but a part of me isn't sure. When I took U. S. History when we first came to California, I got the top mark in the class in the first term and lost by one point to a woman from Viet Nam in the second term. I am rapidly becoming more and more like those who have been here a long time or born here. We are a little deaf to our history. I truly am glad he has an outlet for all this information. I hope he is also learning to listen politely to other students' obsessive topics.
And, with my absentee ballot mailed a week ago, I am ready for this election to be over. There won't be candidates waving at us as we pass in the car and setting Alan off yet again. The lawn signs will disappear, the phone calls will not be recorded and I won't have to plead with Alan so many times to please stop talking about it. I can hope for a new obsession, or at least a novel twist on the old one. At least nobody can say we aren't covering history and civics.
Most people here in the U. S. will be thrilled to have the election over with tomorrow night. I can't say that there will be nobody as thrilled as I will be, but it will be close. We are all tired of the ads and the recorded phone calls. We have all pretty much made up our minds how we are going to vote. Of course, here in California, there are a number of propositions and also seats (judicial?) for which I was not well prepared and have to say I left some of those out. I feel really responsible to pick the best candidate for any position. Ever since I regained the right to vote, after becoming a citizen, I have voted in every election, big or small. Some of the local races such as city council can have a big impact on one's life.
If you know Alan, you know that he is obsessed with the presidency, the cabinet, the Supreme Court and all that he can learn about past elections. He sets my teeth on edge with names from the past such as Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver. Lordy, I should be able to remember what offices these worthy people stood for, but I don't retain this information. I think my brain cells are running away, just the way my legs would like to, when I hear these names. Today he drew me in. "Mom, did you know that there is a school in Illinois...by now I am listening, with full attention...named after Adlai Stevenson?" I said evenly, "Alan, what kind of school is it?" "I think it's a high school." Again, I mentioned that he must not bring in the names of any former candidates into our conversation. Later, he just had to tell me that at his Actors for Autism acting class he is doing a claymation of the 2000 election. He also wants to make a clay model of the president known as "Old Rough and Ready." I am chagrined to admit that I am almost convinced that is Zachary Taylor but a part of me isn't sure. When I took U. S. History when we first came to California, I got the top mark in the class in the first term and lost by one point to a woman from Viet Nam in the second term. I am rapidly becoming more and more like those who have been here a long time or born here. We are a little deaf to our history. I truly am glad he has an outlet for all this information. I hope he is also learning to listen politely to other students' obsessive topics.
And, with my absentee ballot mailed a week ago, I am ready for this election to be over. There won't be candidates waving at us as we pass in the car and setting Alan off yet again. The lawn signs will disappear, the phone calls will not be recorded and I won't have to plead with Alan so many times to please stop talking about it. I can hope for a new obsession, or at least a novel twist on the old one. At least nobody can say we aren't covering history and civics.
posted by Mary at 9:34 PM
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