I am going to do something I rarely do and post a quick series of thoughts.  I spend too damn much time deliberating and editing and since time, these days, is something I just don’t have…I’m going to get this off my chest.  I just got back from a run.  It’s a crystal clear election day morning in New York, the leaves are glowing orange and pink and I could see my breath for the first time this year.  I had gone about 3 miles at a good clip when I passed a man I see almost everyday I venture out.  He rides a bike and has an American flag attached to his helmet.  He’s gregarious, charming and extremely conservative.  As we passed going in opposite directions he hollered out with glee and a slightly accusatory finger point from his teetering bike “I’m going to vote”.  “Good for you”, I replied.   “Tea Party all the way” he shouted.  Through slightly clenched teeth I shouted “Go for it.” and then I added ” It’s a privilege to be able to make that choice.”  And off he went.  

I thought for a second and realized that I actually meant it.  I did.  And as I ran along giving myself silent pats on the back for my holier than thou attitude I passed a woman I know from my work in our villages lower income community.  She’s my age but has been beaten up by a life that never gave her any gifts.  Among her lifes tales to tell are felony convictions, near murders, strokes, struggles, poverty perpetually knocking, many children of her own, some who have succeeded against huge odds and an angry persistence in trying to save the kids, who are not her own that struggle in her community.  She’s difficult but I admire her as much as I fear her rage and criticism.  She was standing with two young black women in a wealthy neighborhood I pass through on my jog, voter registration lists in hand.  “What are you doing?” I asked her when I stopped to catch my breath.  “Making people get their asses out of bed and vote”, she snarled.  “Really?” I said, sounding surprised.  “Hell yes” she muttered, looking at me with disgust.  “It’s a privilege, Jen.  It’s a privilege.”  She had gotten her ass out of bed and left her “have not” neighborhood and her difficult life and her constant struggles and ventured into the land of the “haves” to convince all to excercise the privilege. While I was simply exercising.  So much for the back patting.

So here’s my toast to my friend Mary…and my little part on this election day… Get your asses out of bed today and vote! I truly don’t care who you vote for but I truly care that you make your vote matter.  That you vote because you are voting for someone you really believe in, not because you are angry at the world and they are angry too.  Vote for someone who really can make a difference not for someone who promises something they can’t deliver.  Know what you are voting for.  Know what is possible and what is just cockamamie made up political promising.  I am a Democrat.  I will probably vote for most of the Democrats although I will decline to pull the lever for those I know to be corrupt or lazy.  And if your beliefs are different from mine I would expect you to vote the other way.  But do it with knowledge.  I expect my fellow Democrats to do that too.  Don’t be fooled by debates about whether one person understands evolution or has a history that includes wrestling, don’t deny someone a chance to run a state because they ran a corporation or because they are dull or have bad hair.  Deny people the chance to be elected because they promise something they can’t deliver.  Because they make it seem too easy.  Deny people the chance because they only believe in freedom for some.  Remember, you are only an outsider until you’re elected.  I know.  I was an outsider last year on this day.  And then I was elected to  a small political job in my small community.  It’s a small job to the nation but it’s a job that matters to my neighbors and my friends.  And I understand now that it’s not as easy as it seemed from my place outside.  That those who came before me were not incompetent or stupid(at least most of them) but elected officials bound by realities that go beyond common sense.  And changing even our small little world takes unbelievable persistence and perserverance not to mention patience.  I think we are all angry.  I just don’t think we can allow our anger to make us lazy in our choices.  And that we need to exercise our privilege rather than just exercising.

And now….a joke about plastic surgery from a friend in LA.  Who should know a little something about plastic surgery.  This has nothing to do with voting.  At least not in any way that I can invent?

> —A 54 year old woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital.
>
> While on the operating table she had a near death experience. Seeing God,
> she asked “Is my time up?”
>
> God said, “No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live.”
>
> Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a
> face-lift, liposuction, breast implants and a tummy tuck.
>
> She even had someone come in and change her hair colour and brighten her
> teeth! Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as
> well make the most of it.
>
>
> After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While
> crossing the street on her way home, she was killed by an ambulance.
>
> Arriving in front of God, she demanded, “I thought you said I had another
> 43 years? Why didn’t you pull me from out of the path of the ambulance?”
>
>
>
> God replied:  “I didn’t recognize you.”
>