Poll Worker Saved From Doomscroll by Service

I did okay on election day.  Then, at 3pm, I lit the Molotov cocktail of feelings lying dormant in my bod with ANOTHER CUP OF COFFEE.  BOOM!  Spent the ensuing hours trying to get back to earth, refreshing my news feed FREQUENTLY if not OBSESSIVELY at my desk at work. 

I went on a walk with my friend Emily yesterday right before our new dusk (DST).  We kept getting wafts of warm and cool currents because the park is in a valley and the temperature is dropping so so quickly these days.  It made all the earth smells swirl around in like a scent buffet.  

I asked Emily how she did on election day and she reminded me that she was a poll worker this year.  She said there were a few snafus--the late arrival of the veteran poll worker and a senior member of their team forgetting that he has to turn the building power on every year (even though this is his 15th year OMG).  

But mostly, she said, it was so sweet to see all her neighbors (ones she talks to and ones she hasn’t yet).  She said she got to help grannies use their little coffee stirrers to choose their candidate because their older hands had trouble getting a grip on the tiny stick.  She said people kept saying, “Thank you, baby,” and “Appreciate you.” She said one man voted for “my mothafuckin self” as his write-in candidate (she was not looking on purpose).  She said some people were playing music outside and one girl was giving out flowers.  

Emily was busy helping people participate in our democracy and so she had little time to worry.  I am taking notes on this for the next election.