Browsing Election Day

I spent part of yesterday afternoon
browsing a nearby suburb’s library.
The library was a place for voting
in that suburb next to my own suburb.

I’d voted early at our city hall.
People I’ve talked to said turnout was low
both at my suburb and the one next door.

When I was browsing the library shelves
some guy tried to vote at a voting booth
and managed to knock down the voting booth.
The noise echoed throughout the library
as the voting booth banged against the floor
and banged again collapsing on itself.
The middle-age guy, the would be voter,
stood by the collapsed booth, pen in his hand.
He looked at everyone looking at him.
He blushed, hapless, suddenly embarrassed.
He stammered, apologizing. Workers
hurried to get the voting booth back up.

I sighed and said to a guy next to me,
“He can’t even vote without knocking down
the voting booth and this guy’s vote will help
put the next president into office.”

The guy next to me was excited and
told me nobody’s vote counted because
he had heard there was so much voter fraud
all around the country that the Army
tomorrow was declaring martial law.
He said he’d learned that browsing on the ’net.

I sighed, again, didn’t say anything
and walked away from the voter fraud guy.

That’s election day in America.

I went home and ate two pints of ice cream
even though I’m cutting back on sugar.
I woke up in the middle of the night
with a stomach ache but I think I’ll live.