Judy and I always voted in every election, local, state, national. We often talked about the fact that our two votes didn't really count for much, especially in Texas, where we were usually on the side that lost by a wide margin. Hundreds of thousands of votes in some cases. But we voted.
Two years ago on election day, Judy wasn't feeling well at all. We didn't know it, of course, but she had only a little more than three weeks to live. I'd sent for ballots to be returned by mail, but I was too late, so to vote, we'd have to go in person. I told Judy that we should just skip it, but she wouldn't hear of it. She said that she was going to get dressed and that we were going.
I have to tell you about Judy getting dressed. She never went anywhere in jeans and a sweatshirt. In fact, she didn't even own any jeans. Getting dressed meant putting on her makeup and her good clothes. Not that she didn't put on makeup every day, anyway, no matter how bad she felt, even if she wasn't going anywhere. She'd wear comfortable clothes around the house, but when she went out the door, she was dressed to the nines Always.
So she got dressed, and we went to vote. It gave her a real sense of satisfaction to have voted for Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte, even though they lost by huge margins, by even more than had been predicted.
The next trip we made was to M.D. Anderson, three weeks later. I'm sure I'll be thinking about this every election day from now on, and you can bet I'll be voting every time I can.
11 comments:
Thanks for sharing--and voting. I hope your candidate wins.
Thank you for sharing.
Yes, we often have been on the losing side thanks to the state demographics. It is a topic we also have discussed frequently. But, things are changing. In the meantime, we have done our part again this year.
Thanks for the bittersweet memory. Judy was always a class act.
We'll be voting around 10 - New York doesn't have early voting. When we were 18, and it might have made a difference, you had to be 21 to vote. By the time I first got to vote in 1970, I actually voted for a Republican candidate for Senate (who lost). My first Presidential vote was for George McGovern.
I wish I could say I thought Trump would go away graciously if he loses, but "graciousness" is not part of his makeup, so I'm expecting doom, gloom, and cries of "Foul!"
Lovely memory of a civic-minded woman: going out to vote, no matter what! A class act to the very end.
Yes, I've almost always been on the losing side--especially in state and local elections--being in a deep-red area of a deep-red state. But no matter how overwhelming the odds, I've always voted. Number one, because it's a civic duty; number two, because no one is always guaranteed to be on the winning side; and number three, because a person who gets elected with only 51% of the vote might be a little more cautious than a person who gets elected with 90% of the vote when it comes to making dangerous or damaging changes.
What a wonderful memory. It should comfort you to think about how Judy lived her entire life on her terms. When we vote today, we'll cast our votes in her honor.
Jackie
Thank you for sharing such a sweet memory, Bill.
Cheers,
Jeff
Bill, thank you for sharing that and for reminding me that voting counts, for more reasons than just the physical act of it.
For most of my life I lived in California, where, unless a person is registered for absentee voting, you went to the polls on Election Day and physically marked the ballot. That usually took place at a school, though I remember voting at the local Buick dealer one year! I always went before work, as the polls opened at 7:00 am and I got there early. I never had a boss who was critical of being a few minutes late if it was because of voting.
Now I'm in Oregon, where all voting is mail-in or drop off. Mail-in began in late October, ballot sorting and counting began November 1. We each fill out our ballots, then we go through them together, sometimes, changing our mind after discussion, mostly not because we're alike in our opinions. The most discussion is on the state and local propositions. We both enjoy sitting down together and going over our ballots, then sealing them up in the envelope, signing and going to the library to drop them in the ballot box there. There are such boxes all over the country, and they are available until 8:00 tonight.
all over the COUNTY.
Class and courage defined Judy, all right.
I was surprised to find that we didn't have a single issue on the ballot this year. (I checked online yesterday but I was still a little surprised today.)
Time to legalize marijuana, Governor Cuomo.
Diane is the most patriotic person I know. Like Judy, Diane never missed an opportunity to vote in a local, state, or national election. It's people like Judy and Diane that are the backbone of this country.
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