Main Street: Election Day

There is nothing more Main Street than Election Day. 

When I was young, I used to go with my mother Maggie Thompson when she voted. It was a very friendly place and they had a "voting machine" that kids could use. When I first started voting, it was on machines much like that one. Practice makes perfect. 

I have voted for some wonderful people and on some fascinating issues. My favorite vote was YES on keeping the Guardian Statue where the sculptor had placed it, in a park by the Bay in Berkeley, California. The statue's purpose is to protect the city. The referendum passed and the Guardian is there, keeping the city safe.                                                                                   

Berkeley Guardian Statue by Fredric Fierstein

Today a friend in Canada forwarded a message from his friend in Erie, PA.

My dad Ernie Thompson is depicted in a mural about international labor solidarity for women workers. He believed deeply in that cause and it occasioned some of his best work. It is a gorgeous mural and I love the idea that my dad is watching over Election Day there. 

I was up early to vote -- actually I was up at 3am surely because I caught the national anxiety disorder -- and it was fun to go early and see the polling place busy and bright. I chatted with people I know only because it's where I vote and I try to vote in all the elections. We were all glad for democracy. I got a sticker -- I do adore stickers! -- which I will proudly put in my notebook as a reminder of this day's voting. 

I voted Kamala Harris for President, and I'm praying for our country. She wants to be a uniter, and we badly need uniting. As Tiny Tim says in A Christmas Carol, "God bless us, every one!"