This time two years ago, I spent most days standing in the sun outside of early voting (then, at the mall), trying to secure whatever margin I could in the school board election. \u00c2\u00a0One day, an elderly fellow came by, yelling at the half-dozen or so of us there.<\/p>\n
A City Council candidate smiled and waved politely, then murmured quietly to the rest of us there, “weaned on a pickle.” \u00c2\u00a0That pretty much captures it.<\/p>\n
I went to vote this morning, and having arrived a few minutes early, took a seat and listened to a book<\/a> on my iPod. \u00c2\u00a0Two older gentlemen were hovering nearby, talking loudly enough to be clearly heard above the recording in my headphones. \u00c2\u00a0One was telling the other to vote against every incumbent — because of the red light cameras, because they didn’t get a new senior center, because the world’s gone to hell in a handbasket and it’s all the politicians’ fault.<\/p>\n I sat quietly, pretending not to hear. \u00c2\u00a0I didn’t want to hear, as I don’t make a habit of eavesdropping on others’ conversations. \u00c2\u00a0But some folks don’t recognize that they’re talking loudly enough to be heard all the way out in the parking lot…<\/p>\n We’ve gone two years now without a tax increase in Oak Ridge, in challenging times. \u00c2\u00a0We’ve seen an increase in new home construction, and have made progress in beginning to tidy up our older neighborhood. \u00c2\u00a0 There is work yet to be done, for sure, but this old codger had a seriously bad attitude.<\/p>\n I turned up the volume on my iPod, gritted my teeth, and waited my turn. \u00c2\u00a0I can’t wait until this election is over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This time two years ago, I spent most days standing in the sun outside of early voting (then, at the mall), trying to secure whatever margin I could in the school board election. \u00c2\u00a0One day, an elderly fellow came by, … Continue reading