And in other news,

I voted today.

THAT, actually, is something I firmly believe in. I think I've only missed the chance to vote twice.

The first time was an Auburn city-wide election that I was eligible to vote in, as that I lived off-campus. I was scheduled to work almost the balance of the day, so I figured that it wasn't worth my effort to go vote. But it was. One of the referendums was a measure to reduce the amount of influence students could have on metropolitan governance-- like limiting their ability to vote in municipal elections. Yep, it was summertime, and the passin' was easy. My lonely little vote would not have turned the tide, but it would have given me the permission to complain. I vowed to never miss another ballot.

But I did miss a run-off here when MLB was still a babe-in-arms and we'd been doing a lot of stuff getting his cleft repaired. I was just wore out and I think we were all sick. I forgave myself, and luckily for my conscience, the candidate I would have voted for handily won.

Nowadays, we always go to the polls with MLB; the numbers on the voting machines charmed him from about age two, and since we go at least one a year, he and his enthusiasm have become well known to the poll-workers. Indeed, we can't vote without him.

I like that sort of civic-enchantment in an American.

(Yes, yes, I KNOW I owe y'all an explanation, but rehearsal ran rather late, and I drank a lake's worth of diet cola. Soon. Really.)