I’m pretty sure that there should be a reality TV series about voting in our township. It would be called “If They Want me to Vote, Then Maybe the Polls Shouldn’t be in the Middle of Nowhere”. Well, maybe that’s a little extreme.
However, saying it is out of the way is an understatement. However, the scenery (if you choose to look at it through a glass half full perspective) is beautiful right now!
We had only two issues on the ballot today. A school bond issue and electing school board candidates. As a teacher and a parent, both of these affect me and my family significantly.
So, after school, I headed out to my polling place. It is such a remote location, that they have to place signs like this everywhere so people won’t miss the gravel road.
This is the gravel road to Bethel.
Bethel is a cute little Community Building that stills holds pews and a wood stove. There are only two booths/stands from which to vote. The overflow voters can stand and wait for an open booth or vote in the pews. I have been a pew voter before. ;) We vote with pens on paper. There are no computers. The building barely has electricity. There is a small, beautiful cemetery right next to the building. We are greeted by people we know and that know our story and our families. Sometimes there are cookies and gifts. In my mind, there are no glitches. This may seem primitive to many people, but it’s simple and amazing in my eyes. I love it!
Cole thinks I’m crazy for taking pictures, but I had to have something to prove I was there. :) Actually, I have taken pictures of him here several times in his life and even though he thinks I’m weird for taking them, I hope to instill in him that this is a valuable right that he will one day be thankful to have.
On the way to and from voting, we travel over ‘Washboard Hills’ as the road is so affectionately referred to or in true Ozarks fashion, ‘Warshboard Hills’. It’s a series of several hills that pop up and down one right after the other like an old metal washboard. Sometimes, when John drives, I feel like I’m losing my tummy. It’s great!
If you go too fast, your vehicle bottoms out, as evidenced by the marks at the bottom of this hill.
Since it was so windy and we were still a long way from home, I decided to do a little hand surfing. (If you know me really well, you’d know how embarrassed I am that people do this in front of other people) and you would be really proud that I actually took a picture of myself doing it.
Secretly, I love doing it when I know no one is looking! There’s just something great about the wind hitting your hand and it popping it back up that reminds me of being a carefree little kid. But I digress…
Since the polls are in the middle of nowhere and our main road to get home was closed for repaving, we had to take the long way home. We saw some beautiful forsythia bushes. I love the vibrant yellow!
Near our house is a row of beautiful trees in full bloom right now. In the sunlight, they look magnificent. (Ann, this is your niece’s place.)
Regardless of how far we drive or the scenery in the path we choose or even the way we choose to vote, we are so very fortunate to live in a society that our opinion is valued. The fact that we have a voice is something that can be extremely taken for granted. We have rights that people are willing to die for and others, to kill for. Whether or not everyone chooses to vote is a personal decision, but for me, it’s a privilege and I’m proud to say, “I VOTED!”
