Recently my oldest daughter decided that she wanted a tattoo. My initial reaction was not what she had hoped for. My thoughts on tattoos were not positive. The people that I knew personally that had “defaced” their bodies were few. I just knew I didn’t like tattoos, especially in light of the white hot spotlight on that nasty tattooed stripper home wrecker that Jesse James had been caught with recently. Her parents must be sooo proud….But I digress….
So when my daughter announced that she was getting one, I tried to discourage her any way that I could. I did not prevail. So I decided that (after a lot of convincing) if she was determined to do this act, then I needed to be sure that the place she went to was the “right” place. Not dirty and disease infested. I am a mother-what can I say?
After doing some online research of places in the area, she had it narrowed down to a couple of places. Off we went to check it out and talk with the people there. Let me say right off I was not really impressed with the outside of the first establishment at first glimpse. It was in an area that the offices were being completely renovated and they had a mess everywhere. The shop that we went into was upstairs in a row of offices. Most of the surrounding offices were out of business. I was a little skeptical and apprehensive about this place.
However, once we were inside the girls there were super. It was a clean place and they had all their proper paperwork. They took a great amount of time patiently answering our questions and allaying our fears. After giving it some thought and discussion, it was decided this was the place that would give the tattoo.
We looked through the portfolios’ that were out showcasing the work and style each artist performed and made a choice based on what we liked. Leah was the girl we chose. It turned out to be a good decision. My daughter told her what she wanted and gave her a sample sketch she had drawn of the design. Leah gave some suggestions on how to improve it and promised to work on it before she returned. We made the appointment for the next weekend and then we left.
On the day of the appointment, my daughter was anxious and nervous. I was resigned and a little sad. But I wanted to be supportive of her since she was old enough to make this decision on her own and had made up her mind to do it with or without me.
Once we arrived, Leah was ready for us and was meticulous about her tools and supplies and the cleanliness of her working environment. I was relieved by this. She provided an area that was screened from others as my daughter had chosen her upper thigh as her tattoo placement.
Leah worked diligently for about an hour or so until she had it perfected and I must admit the finished product was impressive. I was pleased with her level of artistic expertise and her friendliness.
All in all the experience was not what I expected and was pleasantly surprised that my prejudices’ were shattered after going through this with my daughter. Again I had to be shown that I need to be a little more open minded about things.
As that old saying goes-the older I get the more I realize how much I don’t really know… Granted my daughter has assured me that this is the only one she plans to get and I am happy to hear that. I must admit though that some evil part of me took a little pleasure in knowing that it hurt a little bit in hopes that it would discourage her from getting anymore. As open minded as I am trying to become- I still believe that I brought her body into this world “unspoiled” by ink and dyes and would like it to remain that way as much as possible….
I can literally sit for hours wasting time day dreaming. I can dream about “if” I only had a studio space I could create great works of art-even though I have yet to complete anything worth writing home about.
I dream about “if” I had enough space I could have a fabulous farm complete with horses, cows, chickens, goats and anything else I could think of-though I have 14 acres of un-bush-hogged field and a chicken pen that is in dire need of cleaning out; horses that need riding and tack that needs repairing.
I dream of the exotic plants that I would grow “if” I had a greenhouse-though I find it difficult to remember to water my two tomato vines 10 steps out my back door.
I dream of redoing and updating my old house but I can’t find the time to paint a single room.
I dream of losing weight and running marathons-yet I have all but abandoned any running when the temperatures rose.
I dream of winning the big lottery-yet all my tickets have expired.
So you see I am a dreamer who never follows through. Oh how I dream about when I am no longer a dreamer-but have become a doer…..
A couple of weeks ago, I had the task of working at one of the election polls in our most recent primaries. I would like to share a few impressions and observations about this day with my readers.
In our particular polling precinct we have almost 3,000 registered voters. We use 2 voting machines. In the course of this particular day we used 10 workers. Assignments ranged from the clerk taking ID’s and verifying the names on the registered voters list to the clerk asking which party the voter chose to vote in-to ballot clerks issuing ballots to the clerk giving out “I Voted” stickers and directing to the exit. Then there is the Precinct Inspector overseeing it all.
The single act that caused the most agitation to the voter, by far was the issue of declaring which primary they chose to vote in. Their reactions ranged from blank stares to outright rage. Which brings me to the topic of today’s blog:
Primary Election Voter Education….
I have worked the polls for at least ten years now and I can NOT for the life of me understand how some people’s minds work. When a voter comes in to vote, one would assume that if they made the effort to come to the polls to vote they would at the very least have some idea about what and who they are voting for. But unfortunately the fact is that a good 70% (or more in some situations) seemed to be ignorant to most of the issues associated with primaries. So in the interest of educating and keeping it simple, I will try to demystify the process.
First of all, a primary is an election that decides which person will be in the General Election in November of an election cycle. That simply means that all the weeks prior to an election, when the politicians are rallying and knocking on your door-promising to do a better job, etc. -it is just so they can be nominated as your district-city-county-state or national representative in the primary election in June. That means that there may be as little as 2 or as much as 6 or more candidates running for one spot in the Republican or Democratic or Independent or Libertarian slot. Most of the time there will be a Republican and a Democrat. In Alabama when you come to the polls to vote in a June Primary-you must declare your Party in order to get either a Blue Republican ballot with all the Republican candidates on it or a White Democratic ballot with just Democrat candidates on it. You can ONLY get ONE ballot- either or- you CAN NOT cross party lines in a Primary Election. You may cross party lines in the General Election in November.
Why this is so upsetting to voters is beyond me. One thing voters need to know is that we polling officials DO NOT care how you vote. Nor do we remember how you vote. It doesn’t matter to us. We are impartial (theoretically and legally) to your voting decision. Voters need to understand the process. Voters must select, or narrow the field if you will, so that there is only one nominee for each party in the November General Election. Republicans versus Democrats (or Independents and Libertarians as the situation dictates). But a Primary is for narrowing the field down to just one candidate per party.
With that said, as often the case, there is a July run-off election held when the votes are close and a decision hasn’t been made as to who is the most popular choice. After 6 weeks from the Primary election, a run-off vote will make that determination if it is not yet clear.
The actual process goes like this: You-the voter come into the polling precinct with your ID ready to be shown. Usually you wait in line until the next clerk is available. While waiting you will notice all the posted signs giving you every possible direction from which ID’s are acceptable to what your rights as a voter are, to step by step instructions on how to vote. READ the signs… You will also see do’s and don’ts such as no cell phones in the polling area, no campaigning within 30 feet of the entrance; you must enter one way and exit another, etc. These are state, county or city mandated rules. NOT the poll workers rules.
The poll workers are simply your neighbors volunteering their time, effort and patience for a very nominal fee. They must attend election school the week before to cover the rules and guidelines. The inspectors must attend 2 schools, and be responsible for all things that occur on election day and up to the point of surrendering the ballots and documents at the end of the election night. The workers must be at the polling place the day before to set up and then be at the polling place by 6AM the morning of and then are there until at least 8 PM or later. Some precincts are unheated and/ or not air-conditioned. They will receive dozens of complaints ranging from the before mentioned primary choice to having to walk too far to “I didn’t bring ID” to “I don’t want to write my name” to “I don’t like how the ballot is designed”. Some will be so irate that they actually hurl insults and profanities to actual objects at the workers. Come on people! We are your neighbors just trying to help out. If you are that displeased with the process, then why not get involved and try to change it in a fashion that is more helpful than hurtful. Honestly, the whole reason that I even agreed to get involved all those years ago was because every time I came to vote, I was taken aback by how rude the poll workers seemed to be. It was intimidating and off putting. I was determined that kill them with kindness would be my motto. As of today, I can honestly say that every single one of the workers at my polling precinct (with the exception of one) will greet you with a smile and a wholehearted attempt to help you in the voting process. Ahh- but I digress.
After you have shown your ID and been verified and declared your party choice in the primary election, you will sign the appropriate book while the clerk writes your name in the corresponding book on the corresponding line that will be turned in to the board of registrars at the end of the day. This will notify them that you have voted and prevent you from being placed on the inactive list after not voting in 4 election cycles. Once you are put on the inactive list, you will be allowed to vote only after you have completed an update form made available to you on Election Day. However, if you have failed to complete an update form after so long you are purged from the list and will have to re-register in order to vote. YOU CAN NOT REGISTER at the voting precinct on Election Day. You must go to your board of Registrars to do this in advance.
Sometimes in the process of signing voters in there are human errors that must be corrected and this means that you may have to wait until they have been taken care of. It happens. No one is perfect. The mistakes must be corrected before moving on to avoid bigger mistakes later. It is a process. Please be patient.
After being signed in at the Primary Election, you are issued a slip that is either blue or white indicating which ballot you will receive. The type of ballot is determined by your primary choice and by where you live in the district that you are voting in. District lines are drawn up in advance and can be confusing to voters. You may be voting in a different district than even your neighbors across the street. Again, the poll workers have no influence in this and you should address any issues you have with this with your elected officials AFTER the election.
Once you have your slip indicating your ballot style you will give it to the ballot clerks who will in turn issue you the proper ballot. Some voting precincts do not use pens and use levers instead. In Alabama, we are pretty universal and use the marking ballots. You will be given a marking pen and a privacy folder and then be directed to go into the voting area to mark your ballot. The voting “booths” are set up with dividers for your privacy.
When marking your ballot, you should be careful to only mark on the ballot where indicating your candidate or issue choice. Any stray marks or changing after marking will kick out (reject) your ballot as unreadable or overvoted. Don’t panic-it happens. Don’t be embarrassed or upset. You aren’t the first voter to have this happen to and you certainly will not be the last. Poll workers are equipped to handle it. If this happens, you will be asked to fold your ballot in half in order to ensure your voting privacy and the top corner will be torn off so that it cannot be fed into the voting machine. The “spoiled” ballot will be placed into an envelope designated as Spoiled Ballots at the ballot clerk table and a new ballot will be issued to you. At the end of the day the spoiled ballots will be turned back in along with all the other documents, unused ballots and voted ballots. While the votes on the spoiled ballots will not be counted, the number of spoiled ballots will be. ALL ballots must be accounted for at the end of the day and reconciled to the number of ballots originally received at that precinct.
Once you have completed your choices on your ballot while sitting in the privacy booths, you will then take you ballot to the voting machine. The machine will take your ballot in a designated slot with arrows. You can place your ballot in upside down, upright, or backwards and the machine will read it. It should read it anyway but sideways. The machine will make a beep and your vote will be counted. The machine will display a number but not how you voted at that time. You will then proceed to the exit where you will drop off your marking pen and privacy folder and receive an “I Voted” sticker. This sticker is given to you to designate you as a voter and to remind others to vote when they see it on you. Wear it with pride. Remember that you have just had the honor of doing something that not everyone can do.
You will exit and hopefully your experience has been a good one. At the end of the day the poll workers will make a reconciliation of all ballots with the number of voters. Tapes will be printed in that process that must be sent to various places and put in different envelopes. A printout of the results will go to the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, Independent, Libertarian, etc. A results printout will be posted on the precinct window for anyone to view. A printout will go to the news media, the Probate Judge and Sheriff and/or other designated officials. The results printout will have a tally of all the votes. Not who voted but just the results.
All the results will be taken to the proper authorities at the end of the Election Day once balanced and reconciled. Then all the machines are zeroed out, and supplies packed up to be returned to the proper places. The voting area cleaned up and put back in order. The Election Day in the history books and put to bed; ready for the next run-off or General Election.
In the General Election, the voters will be able to vote on their candidate or issue of choice without declaring parties.
Beth Chapman - Alabama Secretary of State says:
Crossover voting occurs when a voter who participated in one political party's primary election votes in the primary run-off election for an opposing political party. Alabama election law authorizes each political party to establish rules governing its primary elections (§17-16-14, Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended), including the establishment of rules as to who may vote in its runoff election
The Democratic Party has adopted a crossover voting rule that prohibits a voter from participating in its primary runoff election if the voter participated in another political party's primary election. For example, a voter who participated in the Republican Party primary may not vote in the Democratic Party's primary runoff.
The Republican Party has not adopted a crossover rule. Thus, voters who participate in either the Republican Party's or Democratic Party's primary election may legally vote in the Republican Party's primary runoff election.
Alabama Republican Party Chair Mike Hubbard says:
Right now, Alabama Republicans allow what’s called “crossover voting,” meaning anyone can vote in their runoff elections, even if they voted in the Democratic primary on June 1st. Democrats put a rule in place several years ago that prohibits that, and Republican party chair Mike Hubbard today said he thinks the Republicans should do the same before the July 13th runoff.
“I think that’s something we ought to consider,” Hubbard said Wednesday. “And I think it makes sense, I don’t know anybody who would have a problem with that. It just stands to reason if you voted in Democrat primary, then you shouldn’t be able to come over and have an influence in who the Republican nominee is.”
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However, as of June 11th, nothing has changed and crossover voting still occurs. But more importantly, voters should take the time to investigate the issues and the candidates. Check out the voting records, the ideas, the supporters making the contributions. One vote can make the difference.
Check out some of these web sites to become informed:
Today in the muggy 80 degree Alabama heat, on the hidden depths of the UAH campus back fields, the Eurocross race was run by about 200 plus people in Huntsville. A 5K and an 8K were being run. This was my first experience with the Eurocross and while I had planned to run it, at the last minute my daughter and I decided to just watch it as spectators. I am so glad we made that decision.
As we made our way through the wet grass to the starting line area, we met up with a friend who had just run the 5K portion of it. He was covered in mud, soaked to the bone, and out of breath. He recounted his run and relayed that while he was glad he did it, he thought this would be his last. Finding it to be a pretty challenging course, he thought he’d stick to the regular races. Again, glad we made the decision to just observe.
We watched the end of the 5K race and I quite enjoyed listening to other runner friends describe their runs. Afterwards, we made our way to the area of the first water crossings where the swollen water was at least thigh deep due to the downpours of the previous night. Already muddied by the 5K runners, it was very slick on the banks. This should prove to be interesting indeed.
Then it was time for the start of the 8K run. We watched from our vantage point along the side of the first water crossing as about 50 or more runners, mostly men, hit the wet grass running. Wearing their assortment of gear from Nike, Brooks, Asics, to Reebok, Adidas, New Balance and Mizuno, to Izumi's, Saucony to the Montrail and Vibram shoes to just plain bare feet they ran. Giving it their all, hooping and hollering and huffing and puffing, smiling, laughing to grimacing...Making me wonder again, "why do we do this??"
The Trail itself was a freshly mown path through fields looping around and then through 4 points of water crossings along the way, through some woods and up a very steep embankment, then looping again. Proving to be a challenging course especially for the first timer.
As with most of our races around here, the first runner to reach the water was Hirbo Hirbo. Way ahead of the rest of the pack, he easily crossed the water and was out of sight by the time the next racer reached it. As soon as the front pack made their crossings, we moved a few yards over to the next water crossing that the runners would loop back around to. As they began to make their way through many were already winded and some struggling.
All in all watching the race was very entertaining. We cheered them all on and in the end it was Hirbo winning with a time just over 30 minutes for the 8K victory.
As reported recently in the The Moulton Advertiserafter winning the Jesse Owens Memorial Run in Moulton , Hirbo Hirbo, told reporter Jonathan Deal he began running as something to do when he was bored just a couple of years ago.The 23-year-old Florence resident moved to the United States from Ethiopia three years ago with no running experience. It was only by chance that Hirbo became involved in running as a sport.
“Two summers ago, I had nothing to do, so I went out and ran about a half mile,” Hirbo said. “I was sore for about three days, but I came back after that and have ran ever since.”
That statement can either inspire us or depress us…Either way, I’m just going to keep on plodding forward. One foot in front of the other until I can’t anymore. And oh yeah, I remember now why we do this...because we can... :-)
Here are some pictures that I took of the runners doing their thing…
Well after signing up over a month ago, the day finally arrived for the 31st running of the Mercedes Benz Cotton Row Run in Huntsville, Alabama on May 31, 2010. Some 5,240 runners had signed up for the three races, 10K, 5K & fun run and for the Fallen Officer's Memorial Walk. The weather was overcast and a big muggy and humid.
After suffering from shin splints from “Hades” in the past, we got out our Kinesio Tape the night before and applied in the appropriate places. I looked quite the bionic woman afterward. Bright blue tape up and down my leg, strategically placed to prevent the pain that I suffer after each race.
The night before, my husband whom I think believes I have lost my mind anyway, quietly cornered me urging me to at least drop down to the 5K if I was dead set on running in this race. Oh if he only knew how those same thoughts had crossed my mind more than once. But I am a stubborn woman and I had decided I was all in.
After another sleepless night before, I woke at 3 AM to prepare for the day. My usual pre-race nerves were at an all time high that morning. For some reason I just can't seem to get a handle on them. I had a lot of anxiety over the usual issues like will I be able to stay with the running pack and will I look stupid running, do I need to drink my coffee or eat something, and if so-then what? If I eat will I get the runners trots, and if I don't eat will I be able to make it on empty. What will I wear? If it rains or I run through the sprinklers will my shirt be see through? All the usual crazy things going through my mind..
Worse still, that morning I woke up with my previously broken foot hurting me. I had not run in 3 weeks. I just didn't feel at the top of my game. I was going to run in my largest race ever going farther than I ever had in a race and I was not physically prepared after not training for so long. What was I thinking?
A friend had called the day before to ask about riding together and I really considered backing out of the whole thing then. But I told myself that I had made a commitment and I was going to see this through. My daughter and I had run the course 3 weeks earlier just to be sure I could complete it. A group was meeting every weekend morning for the whole month to train. We went. It was torture. I walked/jogged and ran it slowly and not even within sight of the others, but I finished it. My daughter stayed with me as we made our way.
But today was the day. Monday, Memorial Day 2010. As my daughter and I drove to my friends house to pick him up, I truly felt sick at my stomach. It was beyond butterflies- it was an “I may need to pull over and hurl” feeling all the way there. We drove the 30 minutes it took to get there with my husband and other daughter following behind us in the pre dawn dark. In my Nike Structure shoes and my Reebok running pants and top with my blue taped legs, I was as ready as I was going to be. But definitely was questioning my sanity at that point.
We were early and got a prime parking spot. The setups were just getting underway. We had time to walk around and relax a bit before things started jumping. It helped. As the people poured in, I became calmer and “zen” like. It took effort, but I reminded myself that my goals were simple that day. Foremost it was just complete the race. Secondly I would like to not be the last person over the finish line. Thirdly, have some fun and enjoy the race. I realize this sounded like some very low goals to the diehard competitive racers, and I must admit not my usual mindset when competing. But I had to realistic. I was undertrained to expect anything more.
Once we were instructed to line up at the 7AM start time, I went to the point near the back of the pack. Then I decided to move up more to the middle of the pack as everyone tightened up the lines. As we stood in line, the officials gave us a speech about how this was a challenging course and that only those truly fit should run it. That if you weren’t there was no shame in dropping out. Great! Just what I needed to hear when I was already feeling a bit overwhelmed. Good Grief. But stubborn and determined I held my place.
Then after the pre-race ceremonies were over, we were off. A throng of thousands literally, elbow to elbow for at least the first half mile and then it started opening up as the faster runners pulled ahead of the pack.
As I ran through the streets of Huntsville with my fellow runners, the spectators cheered us on. Hundreds of people had come to cheer on their loved ones and strangers as they each worked to accomplish their own personal goals for the day. It was such a neat sight to see and made me feel so good.
As we made our way through the 6.2 miles, we would talk amongst ourselves. I met new people and heard their short stories about their experiences that day or why they were running. Some were running for their first time, some were running their 100th time and recovering from injuries. Of course the faster runners were long gone from our area of the pack, but you felt like comrades as you ran together and chatted; happily knowing there were quite a few more runners behind us. Validating that while we might be slow, we weren’t the slowest; not that being the slowest was bad.
The topic always turned to the hill ahead; that hateful straight up hill that seemed to go on forever. I knew where it was and I knew it would take all my mettle to reach the top. Once we made it through that point, we would be half way and the rest would be relatively easy after that. As I was running I encountered four 15 year girls running their third 10K together. These girls were so funny. Ah youth… But being able to say that I was able to hang with the 15 year olds for most of the race made me feel a little better about it all. Now they may feel differently because they have to say they ran with the 50 year old. And we followed the 70 year old that beat us all…
Once we reached the bottom of the dreaded hill, someone had the theme from Rocky playing loudly to spur us on. It did inspire me to run the first quarter of it before my legs said “What you talking about woman?!!” NO WAY! So I walked the rest of the way up; at one point almost crawling it as my nose came closer and closer to the asphalt. When your car actually has to strain to get up a hill, you know its steep.
However, once I reached the top, the guys carrying the American Flag were there to cheer us on and congratulate us for our successes. The water station was ahead and a sprinkler was set up to run through to cool us down. Thank you Huntsville!! After that point, it was another smaller hill and then the very steep downhill descent. I turned it on as fast as I safely could. I reached the bottom to the blaring sounds of Alicia Keyes’ Empire State of Mind. Just what I needed to give me that extra push along. The people standing in their yard cheered us loudly and we all had a bit of dancing in the streets with the music as we went by. It was a priceless moment. Next, it was a shout out to some more friends who lived along the course way and some more cheering on. By then we all knew we were going to make it. It was mile 4 and only 2.2 more to go…
As I pounded out those last couple of miles, loudly breathing, trying to conserve that little bit for the sprint at the finish line, I was smiling and feeling that this is where I needed to be. Maybe that was that runners high I had kept hearing so much about. I truly loved the moment. This was the first time that I could remember actually enjoying the run itself. Before, the enjoyment always came after it was over.
That last quarter mile was priceless. The crowds cheering, the music playing, the excitement in the air; it was all good. As I crossed the finish line, my friends and family were there waiting and cheering me on. They had run good races and were feeling good too. My husband was smiling and proud of me also. The first person I saw was the smiling face of my younger daughter as she whooped and hollered for me; it was all perfect.As I sat at the base of a big elm tree I savored the moment. I had accomplished my goals. I had done IT! I may be slow, but I still did it. It was just bliss. I can’t describe it any better.
The day was a great day. The race was perfectly organized. The rain had held off. The crowds were huge. I saw no one injured or sick. It was just good fun!
Maybe –just maybe-there is still some kick left in me yet….
Granted I have been sore all over, but no shin splints. Yea Kinesio tape!
