I voted today!

Okay, so my hubby takes baby to daycare today and calls me at home. He says to leave a little early to take girls to school because of "Voting Traffic". I brush him off thinking it can't be THAT bad. Can I just tell you the cars were parked 1/4 of a mile back from the building where we were to vote? I tell myself that I will wait until the traffic dies down a bit.
I go to work for an hour and leave to vote at the Assisted Living Center. I luck into a parking place right in front of the building. I walk up and there is a small line filed outside.
In the first 30 seconds a little old lady (looking confused) introduces herself as "Mrs. Mary Lee Speller S-P-E-L-L-E-R " asks me where we are. Thinking she must be a resident of the assisted living center I ask her where she needs to be. She said the bus from her hotel brought her there so she could vote and she's finished voting and the bus wasn't where it was and if she doesn't get back to her hotel soon, she will miss The View.
She pulls out a list of names and numbers and I see that she is indeed a resident of different facility and I make a few phone calls and we get her all straightened out. I don't think she made it back in time to watch The View though.
As I walked inside, the feeling you get when someone attempts to sell you a timeshare hit me. The small outside line was just a ploy to suck you in. The line inside wrapped around an entire wing of the building. I think the Fire Marshall must take a vacation on Election Day.
A nightmare number of people filled the hallways. Not just regular people mind you, oh no, these people were the perfect fodder for the doodles I create at work. During my 90 minutes in line I took notes on my BlackJack . There was a lady wearing the red shaggy swim cap matching red sweat suit and red Crocs. (She was going to be late for her aqua -aerobics class at the Y.)
I was approached by two different people who asked me if Jesus was my Lord and Savior. They almost sounded disappointed when I answered yes. I stood and listened to a pair of sassy older ladies discuss plastic surgery. That conversation is for a different blog altogether.
Only my Kung Fu reflexes saved my toes from being run over by the Hoveround Mobility Chairs that whirred down the hall. The only thing that seemed to slow the "motorized-chair-people" were the "people with walkers."
I eventually made it to the little cardboard booth with my felt tip marker in hand. I promptly scribbled out hate-graffiti written on the cardboard. Some people are so rude.
While I read and re-read the proposed amendments to our state constitution I made a promise to myself that I would accompany my parents or grandparents when it becomes obvious that they need assistance while voting. There were too many confused elderly people just standing there clogging up the lines. I do not believe a herd of people with dementia should be dropped off and left to their own devices. One lady asked out loud, "When does the movie start?"
The wonderful volunteers at my particular poling place tried to be helpful and had a great attitude all things considered. I fed the (hopefully uncorrupted) machine my vote and was handed my little "I voted" sticker. Which by the way, will get you a free Starbucks coffee, a free Krispy Kreme donut and free 3 piece chicken strips from Chick -Fil-A here in our great city.

Moral of the story...GO VOTE!