doing my civic duty yet again

Well, me and 1.1 million other Georgians.

Let me allow that image to settle for a moment.

Over a million citizens of the Peach State have already cast their ballot, for a second time, to determine who the next Senator will be.

To grant that a little perspective, consider this: a total of 3,935,924 votes for this contested race were confirmed earlier this month.

That means that so far, then, more than 27% of the people in this state who voted in the November 8th election have already taken advantage of the early voting for the December 6th runoff election to have their choice counted again.

That includes me, of course, as of today.

I don't know how much time folks have invested in casting their votes this time around, but I have two unsuccessful tries before this third effort.

I had tried at this Eisenhower center on Monday, but folks were parked all up on the curbs and driving crazy and being rude, so I left.

Meanwhile, that was about thirty minutes out of that day spent on the attempt.

Tuesday, I sallied forth to vote again, this time at the Southwest Chatham Public Library.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... no.

Two lines of people waited, wrapped around the building and spilling out into the wooded green space with the squirrels and birds.

Yesterday, I didn't even bother trying.

 

Today, though, I was determined to get this task done.

Yes I was, even though the temperatures were only getting into the mid-50's this afternoon.

It was bright and sunny, with no chill wind, so I dressed the part and went over to the Eisenhower center once more.

Sure, I was plenty daunted when I saw the sign where I was standing.

"From This Point

1 Hour Wait"

Was that for real?

Actually, it was off by a factor of 50%.

That wasn't the fault of the sign maker.

No, the blame for the increase in time lies squarely on the folks who insisted on bunching up, inching up a little more and a little more to the person in front of them, as if that would move the line any faster.

Ack.

I'd be willing to bet they're the same ones who keep creeping up on the car ahead of them at a traffic light, like being those few inches closer will gain them a time advantage to offset the safety risk.

Ack.

I kept about three feet between me and the person in front of me.

Even so, I had a staff worker ask me to "move up or I'll have to put someone in front of you." 

I explained that I cared for elderly parents and needed to maintain a safe distance - like 3 feet is safe! - and i think she was about to say something else until two people started coughing, one a few people ahead of me and one a few people from her.

I think it helped that I was wearing a mask.

I was the only one in line that had one on.

I wore that mask the entire time, too.

All one hundred fifteen minutes.

That's right, I stood in line for one hour and fifty-five minutes.

Like, exactly.

The time it took for me to advance from the "1 Hour Wait" sign to the "30 Minute Wait" one was 45 minutes.

The time it took for me to get to the front door of the building?

Another 45 minutes.

Then it was time to wait inside to get the paperwork processed and receive the voting card, to advance to the machines, to remit the printed ballot and to get the "I voted" sticker.

The time it took to actually cast my ballot for the one contested race?

About five seconds.

Just crazy.

I definitely needed a treat after standing on concrete for that long.

So, to reward myself for getting it done, and being oh so patient about it, I went to Chili's.

Hey, I had a gift card!

So, for $10.99, I got a beverage, an appetizer, and an entree.

What a steal!

And this Summer Time girl had a tall glass of lemonade - ah!

And this Summer Time girl had crisp, fresh chips and just-right salsa - ah!

Then this Summer Time girl had a few moments to sit and enjoy and to make contact with friends and family about her experience - ah!

How lucky so many were that they lived somewhere other than Georgia!

(smile!)

And now, I'm home again.

I've finished off the Crispy Chicken Sandwich and fries for my dinner.

"Ghosts" is soon to be on, and I do so enjoy that show!

And I've taken care of voting and need not let that concern any longer.

Hooray!

(smile!)