Vote! Vote! Vote!

Voting and I go way back. I remember being young — it would have to have been when I was either six or ten years old, since Ronald Reagan was either on the verge of getting elected or re-elected — and I was waiting in line with my mother at the Marion Fire Station for her turn in the voting booth. She and my aunt were going over the ballot, and while I don’t remember who else was running for office, I was definitely pushing for her to vote for Reagan.

I even got to step into the voting booth with her (which I now know might have been some sort of violation) and she let me turn a few of the knobs on the analog voting machine they were using at the time. I’ve always been into the idea of democracy, I guess. There’s just something about a large group of people coming together to make known their preference on an issue or candidate.

I turned 18 in 1991, so when the first presidential election I was eligible to vote in rolled around in 1992, you better believe I was registered and ready to cast my ballot.

Back then, I was still living at home, and I remember standing in line — again at the Marion Fire Station, again with my Mom — to vote for the very first time. I remember making fun of the no-chance third-party candidates with their funny names. I also remember another thirdparty candidate, Ross Perot. If you don’t remember him, he was a big enough deal in 1992 to have Dana Carvey playing him on Saturday Night Live — in case you thought Alec Baldwin’s Trump impersonation was some

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again with my Mom — to vote for the very first time.

I remember making fun of the no-chance third-party candidates with their funny names. I also remember another third-party candidate, Ross Perot. If you don’t remember him, he was a big enough deal in 1992 to have Dana Carvey playing him on Saturday Night Live — in case you thought Alec Baldwin’s Trump impersonation was some new concept, or if you thought Trump’s “businessman running for president” was new either.

Anyway, 1992 was a great time to be a first-time voter, because not only was I a Democrat through-andthrough, my main man Bill Clinton was running for president. Now, I know Bill and Hillary have their critics, and much of it is probably deserved, but I thought that is was awesome that a guy from Arkansas (with a guy from Tennessee that I also liked) were on the ticket.

Clinton, of course, won the election and was re-elected in 1996. Then we got “W” for eight years, followed by two terms from Obama.

I always voted. I always followed the campaigns and played with those interactive maps you can find online to set up different outcomes and predictions. I’ve always found the whole thing to be fun.

Except, it’s not fun anymore.

I’m just older now, or because it seems like the whole process is just about party politics rather than policy or because it has just gotten so nasty, it feels different… tainted.

So, here we are with another election coming up. I won’t try to stump for any particular candidate, but I will tell you, get out and vote. Early voting starts Monday and there’s no time like the present to make your choices and let your voice be heard!