Voting excursion was useless but lovely
Now it's time to root for Gendebien
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I went to the polling place in the Village Green Apartments Tuesday night at about 7:30 to cast my vote in the NY-21 Democratic primary and discovered I had never changed my registration from “not enrolled in a party.”
At some point in my journalism career years ago, I changed my registration to “not enrolled” to avoid having people look up my registration to confirm their perception of me as a (your favorite mean word here) liberal. This was silly, because I am a liberal. But I’ve been too lazy and disorganized to switch back. As I was being told I couldn’t vote Tuesday, it came to me the same thing happened a few years ago, and I resolved to switch the registration back to Democrat so I could vote in primaries. But resolving to act is one thing while actually acting is another.
So I went back out in the parking lot Tuesday, feeling stupid, and noticed the glorious clarity and warmth of the late evening summer light. Kids were out running around and riding their bikes around the sheltered neighborhood’s roads and parking lots.
Wednesday, I learned the candidate I would have voted for, Stuart Amoriell, lost by a large margin, which I hoped wouldn’t happen but expected. Awful and rich Republican Anthony Constantino won his primary also by a large margin, which, in the age of Trump, cannot be considered a surprise.
Now for the next four months and handful of days, I’m going to cheer for Blake Gendebien and do everything I can to help him win.
In light of all the levels of responsibility you’ve shouldered to ensure 24/7 comprehensive care of Bella and her progressive dementia all these years, the not-remembering to change your political party designation was a human lapse - not a sign of neglect or “stupidity.” And your choice as a journalist to protect your right to privacy as a voting citizen was a conscientious one at that time.
I’m glad you got a time-out to take in the splendid sky show on a warm summer evening. Many of our cloud formations from dawn to dusk these past weeks have been like looking up at a huge mural in an artists’ gallery. A slow moving visual meditation to take our minds off our earthly worries. The simple act of looking upward can provide brief respites when we least expect them.
It was a good, if unintended, test of the voting system. And the system worked properly.
Good job! And thanks!