Ah, the drama of the presidential election! Two years of campaigning, one voting day.  On the one hand, it’s rah-rah-rah when I see a sign for Democrats. Yes! I belong to that club. On the other hand, there is burn-out.  First there was the Freaky Friday switch, then hours of Improv by America’s most unpredictable actor.

I decided to wear a vintage Carter for President button this year.  Carter turned 100 on October 1.

My friends despair.  “You do know he’s not running, don’t you?”

Where is the fun in knowing that?  And where is the fun of voting in 2024?  In 2000, we had cute voting booths, which, if I remember correctly,  had privacy curtains.  Behind the curtain, we punched tiny holes in a ballot.  In 2000, there was the absurd hanging chad scandal.  Now we must fill in bubbles on vintage multiple-choice worksheet-like ballots.  And who can color inside the lines? 

“The past is a different country.”  How I wish I had been a suffragist (the American word for “suffragette”) like my great-grandmother!   Actually, I am not sure she was a suffragist, but I imagine her going to rallies, holding a VOTES FOR WOMEN sign, chanting slogans.  Times are bad, but at least we have the vote!.

In case you’re wondering, I do vote, because the same issues – climate change, civil rights, women’s rights, gun control – are never resolved.  I will go to bed early this year and not wait to see the results.  That way, there will be 8 more hours of hope!