Jog to the vote: Democracy in action

I texted my buddy Artie last night, inviting him to join me in an Election Morning jog from his house today. Being a Tuesday, that is our usual jogging day. We are quite a pair, the two of us -- two has-been joggers and former streak runners, constantly nursing a variety of ailments. He has a bum hip that now limits him mostly to cycling and swimming; I'm nursing a bad heel and a variety of other minor complaints. Despite this, we try to keep our Tuesday morning runs intact most weeks. Our usual Tuesday run is a loop through the Culinary, starting and finishing from Planet Fitness in south Hyde Park.

Today, we braced for the coldest morning of the season -- 22 degrees! -- and headed to our polling place in Hyde Park, leaving from his house at 5:37 a.m. We were a little late for our usual 5:30 a.m. start, but with the cold we were both moving very slowly and neither of us was in any hurry to rush out the door. We arrived at the firehouse on Route 9 at 5:58 a.m., to an amazing and uplifting sight: There was a line of about a dozen folks -- mostly older men -- waiting to go into the firehouse and vote.

One guy saw us and said, "keep movin''' while another guy commented on Artie's questionable decision to wear shorts on this frigid morning (side note: he ALWAYS wears shorts, even in below-zero weather). So we did another loop around the neighborhood and got back to the firehouse at 6:15 a.m. There was still a line, but it was inside now. Clearly, the motivation to vote in this election year is very strong. The presidential election truly provides a clear and definite choice. It is not appropriate to discuss politics here; I may lose friends and followers if I discussed my admittedly not-well-formulated opinions. You know what they say: Best not to discuss politics and religion among friends.

At any rate, it's great to see democracy in action. No matter which side of the aisle with which you align, the idea that we can have a free and fair election is one of the things that makes this country great. Hopefully, all our friends in the hurricane-affected areas will somehow find a way to cast their ballots as well.