Yes! Yes I did! Woo Hoo! I feel so GOOOOOOOOODDDDDDD!!!!!!!
Here's what happened: I walked into my polling place (LaGuardia House on 116th Street) and was greeted by a friendly man who said "Downstairs for voting." I found my way to the basketball court and the table by the door where two women were checking addresses. Then they sent me to station 80 where I had to tell the women my name and sign the roster. No one asked me for my ID, which I thought was a good thing, though I did have it at the ready. One disappointing thing was that the women working the booth did not ask me if I knew how to use the machine and the machine was harder to use than the ones I've used in the past. (This just made me worry about people who might not be able to figure it out but feel too embarrassed to ask for help.) Instead of having to pull the lever to close the curtain, the curtain stayed closed, so it wasn't so obvious that you had to pull the lever to start. It was down at the bottom of all the buttons (usually it's at the top). There were directions (in English only) on the left wall of the booth, so I read them and then started flicking the little buttons all the way down the Democratic column like a giddy school girl. I took a breath, stepped back to make sure the x was really next to JOHN KERRY and then cranked that lever in the opposite direction as hard as I could. It was sexual. It was cathartic. I made love to my country!
That reminds me of an Ani song that I would like to share with you all on this Election Day:
grand canyon
i love my country
by which i mean
i am indebted joyfully
to all the people throughout its history
who have fought the government to make right
where so many cunning sons and daughters
our foremothers and forefathers
came singing through slaughter
came through hell and high water
so that we could stand here
and behold breathlessly the sight
how a raging river of tears
cut a grand canyon of light
yes, i've bin so many places
flown through vast empty spaces
with stewardesses whose hands
look much older than their faces
i've tossed so many napkins
into that big hole in the sky
bin at the bottom of the atlantic
seething in a two-ply
looking up through all that water
and the fishes swimming by
and i don't always feel lucky
but i'm smart enough to try
cuz humility has buoyancy
and above us only sky
so i lean in
breathe deeper that brutal burning smell
that surrounds the smoldering wreckage
that i've come to love so well
yes, color me stunned and dazzled
by all the red white and blue flashing lights
in the american intersection
where black crashed head on with white
comes a melody
comes a rhythm
a particular resonance
that is us and only us
comes a screaming ambulance
a hand that you can trust
laid steady on your chest
working for the better good
(which is good at its best)
and too, bearing witness
like a woman bears a child:
with all her might
born of the greatest pain
into a grand canyon of light
i mean, no song has gone unsung here
and this joint is strung crazy tight
and people bin raising up their voices
since it just ain't bin right
with all the righteous rage
and all the bitter spite
that will accompany us out
of this long night
that will grab us by the hand
when we are ready to take flight
seatback and traytable
in the upright and locked position
shocked to tears by each new vision
of all that my ancestors have done
like, say, the women who gave their lives
so that i could have one
people, we are standing at ground zero
of the feminist revolution
yeah, it was an inside job
stoic and sly
one we're supposed to forget
and downplay and deny
but i think the time is nothing
if not nigh
to let the truth out
coolest f-word ever deserves a f*cking shout!
i mean
why can't all decent men and women
call themselves feminists?
out of respect
for those who fought for this
i mean, look around
we have this
yes
i love my country
by which i mean
i am indebted joyfully
to all the people throughout its history
who have fought the government to make right
where so many cunning sons and daughters
our foremothers and forefathers
came singing through slaughter
came through hell and high water
so that we could stand here
and behold breathlessly the sight
how a raging river of tears
is cutting a grand canyon of light
words and music by ani difranco © 2004 righteous babe music / BMI
