Throwback Thursdays...The First Vote
Turn on the news, read the news...it seems like we are being told to get out (or something covidly appropriate) and vote.
I will never forget the first time I voted- I think it was the 1970 Presidential 
election. My mother went with me and was so proud. She beamed!
You see back then, we actually went to our polling place in our neighborhood or community… on election day. And even though Houston is huge, we still behaved like a small town. We knew each other and said hello. We didn’t steal political signs that were in someone’s yard or lose friends over the election.
So at my old elementary school -Thomas Jefferson Elementary (hopefully he hasn’t been replaced by the time I publish this) - my mother walked with me up the sidewalk telling all of her friends (the parents of my classmates) that her daughter was voting for the first time.
Embarrassed does not begin to describe how I felt. I could not wait to get inside the Private booth.
Several years later, I voted on my way to work. Again, not sure who was running for President but the lines at my polling place were long. This was pre-cellphone days, so there was no way to call into my office to let them know. As it turned out, I stood in line for over 2 hours but I voted!
Maybe it was a bigger thing back then...like an honor and a right. Who you chose to vote for was your choice as well as your right to keep to yourself.
Growing up, Election Day was a special day. If you were a child in school, it was fun seeing the booths and adults going to vote. As an adult, it was a responsibility, duty, and privilege.
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