Election Day/Part 2

The excitement mounted this morning as the Today Show covered (live) Barack Obama and Michelle Obama voting in their home district of Chicago.

After running some errands I stopped by the high school about 11:45am...a time that I thought would guarantee easy in and out....

I was greeted by this happy couple...showing off their t-shirt they got in Denver at the Democratic Convention.

I headed into the school and was greeted with this....however, despite the long line, my heart swelled at the patriotism and pride evident in that hallway.. there was an elderly African American gentleman in front of me who was positively giddy. We talked about our kids, about the crowd...the pride that both of us felt today made us instant friends.

After about 20 minutes, I turned the corner into the next hallway--and saw the next line. It did seem as if the line was progressing smoothly, however.

Along the way...we heard info on voting with paper ballots...

I was greeted at the front of the line by a town volunteer, who let me know that NO camera's were allowed in the polling place...in a nice way..see how friendly he looks? :)

I got my ballot...went over to the privacy booth..and just took a minute to take it all in....wow...I had chills just realizing that this is something I hope to live to tell my future grandchildren and great-grandchildren about.

(I know I wasn't supposed to take a picture...but I snuck a couple in my privacy booth.)

I made my choice...it felt SOOOO GOOOOD.
I am very proud of that sticker too.