I dropped my wife at the airport an hour ago, at 5:30 this morning, to catch a plane for Colorado where her employer needs her for 5 weeks. That meant she had to early vote. We had planned to do this yesterday. 2 days ago, I took her to an urgent care clinic to be treated for a fast onset gastro-intestinal illness. They gave her a shot to halt the vomiting, an anti-biotic to kill the bug, and another med to ease the G.I. cramps. Needless to say, when I asked her yesterday if she was ready to go vote, her pale and drawn face looked up at me like I was crazy, and she said, "No, she didn't feel like going anywhere."
I allowed a couple hours to go by, she was not feeling better, but, time was getting short and we had a 40 minute drive to get to the early voting station. I told her to get ready, we have to go and vote. She snapped at me angrily, saying, "Alright". We made the drive in silence. At the voting station we exited the car, she took my hand, and we walked into the building and voted. Half way home, she took my hand again, leaned over and kissed my cheek, thanking me for pulling her along. She said she was glad she voted as she held the mishap bowl in her lap with the other hand. I felt proud of her, and myself. I know she felt terrible, but, that made voting despite how she felt, that much more a source of pride.
Leaving our country's fate to the power brokers, is just too great a threat to our own future. We later discussed how nothing less than the career she loves, rests upon how she and millions of other Americans vote, and whether they vote, at all. She acknowledged that her job future depended upon her voting. I couldn't agree with her more. We did our duty to self and country. We hope and trust that you will do yours. We are after all, Americans, with a common future before us. We will prosper or fail together, and I can't think of anything more important these next two weeks for Americans than to take their future in their own hands and vote as if their livelihood depended on it. Because it does.
