I Filled in My Ovals…You Do the Same!
I fulfilled my civic duty and voted this morning. Our polling place is the lobby of a former senior-citizen housing building (now market rate apartments) in the West End (Charles River Park). It’s about a 5 minute walk from our condo. When I got in there, the line had a few hundred people in it, but seemed to be moving quickly. It was refreshing to see such a variety of people: old/young, male/female and every single race in the book.
The line ended in the check-in room about 30 minutes later. I was able to overhear everybody provide their address to the staff person and the addresses were all the same. Then it dawned on me that the staff at this particular location probably have it easier than almost any other polling station in the country. My district (or ward..whatever it’s called) consists of a 40-acre park-like setting of spaced-out high-rises (ranging from 12 to 38 floors) smack dab in the heart of the city (it’s what developers in the 1960’s thought the future of city living would be). So, the staff only had to deal with 5 buildings: Whittier Place, Emerson Place, Hawthorne Place, Amy Lowell House and my building. Cushy job. In fact, the woman that handed me my ballot told me she lived in my building.
What suprised me most was the lack of security. There was no bag check, no ID check. Nada. Just hundreds of people casually walking into a residential building and standing around in line without any supervision (until they go to the voting room). There was one police officer on duty – but he was seated in the back corner of the voting room and was busy being the guy who checked off your name after you completed the ballot. Otherwise, the place was staffed only with geriatrics.
But now it’s time to wait for the results. If Kerry wins (fingers crossed, clicking heals together three times) Boston’s Copley Square will have a huge celebration with Cheryl Crow, Black Eyed Peas, Carole King, James Taylor, Jon Bon Jovi and Don Henley. If Bush wins, I hear he may have Toby Keith.
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And did you know that Kerry’s base of operations this evening is the Boston Public Library? We’ve had secret service crawling all over the place for the last several days. Crazy, but kind of exciting…
And did you know that Kerry’s base of operations this evening is the Boston Public Library? We’ve had secret service crawling all over the place for the last several days. Crazy, but kind of exciting…
(to Michael C)
Ooh, library intrigue!
(to Karl)
Yay, voting! I had an hour-long wait at my precinct in Somerville but it was fun to chat with neighbors and we did get to stand in the sun.
Ovals? We’re still using punchcards in Chicago.
Ovals? We had to use a #2 pencil to complete a broken arrow. ie <– –< to <—–< in front our choice for pres.
i guess its a big deal when youve got military helicopters flying overhead, and military police on the metro. ive never felt so surveilled in all my life. LOL.
i stood in libe for close to 2 hours!
Karl-
Don’t make fun of the seinors.
My Nani was a voting volunteer…..
David(MA)
If Bush wins, the only concert you’ll hear will be the sound of goose-stepping SS troops taking over the nation.
If Bush wins, the only concert you’ll hear will be the sound of goose-stepping SS troops taking over the nation.
BTW, we had ovals, too.
Not sure about the Nazi comment above, but I would like to comment on the fact that I like ovals. In fact … I love them.
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The text was good, but i stil cant find the play ipdates. looking for it dude.
A heap of wheat, says the Song of Songs
but I’ve never seen wheat in a pile 🙂
did you like it?
Nice one, but what about der weg ? anywya, congrats from me.
sehr gut Saite. Was machen Sie mein Freund?
keep it up !