Silence Your Ventilators

In true to form fashion, I have delayed voting until the day of the election. My designated polling center is the retirement home across from the street from my apartment. If I must wait several hours to vote, I'm glad I get to spend the time in the most enjoyable environment possible, a nursing home. I already made myself a t-shirt that says, "Silence your ventilators and your anguished moaning, I'm here to select a railroad commissioner!" At least I'll finally have a good reason for showing up to work covered in bed sores and pumped full of some old lady's thyroid medication.

This is my first election while living in Austin. So far, it seems a lot different from all of the others, namely that people here appear to care a whole lot about all of the races, even the minor ones. Austinites are so riled up, they air mud-slinging commercials for the State House of Representatives candidates. To emphasize how unusual this is, I didn't even know Texas had a state House. In my defense, how can I be expected to keep up with these things when the assembly only meets twice a year at a Wendy's? I look forward to witnessing something magical tomorrow afteroon when we combine the vehemence of this electoral passion with bewildered senior citizens.

I have one last point regarding all of this, which will almost certainly go unnoticed. The election tomorrow certainly carries a lot of significance, but we shouldn't allow its results to obscure more important things. Most of us are probably aware of this, but I didn't realize it until yesterday when I found out that someone close to me unexpectedly lost a parent. Events like that put all of the petty squabbling into perspective for me. Whatever happens tomorrow, we'll have a chance to change in the near future; that isn't so with some happenings. Tomorrow's just an election, and I hope we can treat it as such. Regardless of who wins, we'll all make fun of the winner for the next four years anyway.