Your Vote Matters! Know Your Rights!

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Vote Glass_ballot_box_-_Smithsonian

Glass Ballot Box circa 1884, Smithsonian Institute, public domain photo

As we near the midterm elections in the US, it is becoming clearer and clearer that voter suppression is alive and well in 2018. When voting at the polls, make sure you know your rights.

Vote Acme_ballot_box_-_Smithsonian

Acme voting machine circa 1880, Smithsonian Institute, public domain photo

Here are some important takeaways from a CNN online article found here:

If you are told you cannot vote

  • ask poll workers to check surrounding systems for your name.

  • ask to sign an affidavit  swearing your eligibility.

  • ask for a provisional ballot and follow up later to make sure it’s counted.

  • if you are denied or feel intimidated, report the incident to any poll workers present, AND

  • report the incident to local officials or the Department of Justice Voting Rights hotline*

Vote Metal_ballot_box_-_Smithsonian

Metal ballot box circa 1936, Smithsonian Institute, public domain photo

Phone Numbers that may be useful:

Election Protection Hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Election Hotline (en español): 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA 
*US Department of Justice Voting Rights Hotline: 1-800-253-3931

The information above is taken from the CNN article “Here’s what to do if you’re turned away at the polls.“

A Sketchy Story

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scary

Once upon a stormy night,
it was a dark and dreary time.
Did you hear the one about…
You’re not going to believe this rhyme.

It all begins on Halloween,
this scary tale I’ve yet to weave.
I do not know the ending yet;
it took so long, the start to leave.

I’m sure there’re bats and witch’s brew,
lightning crackling in the sky,
the mournful howls of shrouded souls,
an icy breeze when ghosts glide by.

Something frightening will occur,
a horrid nightmare come to life.
We must escape impending doom.
A curse? a ghoul? a bloodied knife?

Though terror strikes, Good will prevail.
Ghosts disappear with dawn’s first light.
We’ll be forewarned of danger still
in shadows deep on stormy nights.

And so it ends, as all tales do.
The rest is history as they say.
We all live happily ever more.
We live to fight another day.

The details of this scary tale —
as sketchy as they seem to be —
are yours to conjure in your mind
and fill the blanks in as you please.

If any moral lies herein,
I leave that point for you to hone.
The yarns I spin unravel fast.
Collect the threads and weave your own.

dVerse Poetics

Old but New

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floor3

I don’t know when the original hardwood flooring was covered with carpet. Times change. Tastes change. A beautiful, gleaming oak floor in the mid-fifties came – over time – to be seen as an outdated, cold, hard to maintain surface. Carpets – with so many shades and textures to choose from, so warm to the feet on cold mornings, so… modern! – were slapped down right over the top of the oak floors. Adding insult to injury, no one even bothered to use drop cloths when they spray-textured and painted the walls before laying the carpet.

Times change. Tastes change. When I discovered the oak floor beneath the tacky, cheap, outdated carpet, I was delighted! Scratches, minor water stains, tack and staple holes give it charm and character to my eye. I will not revive it to its pristine 1955 condition. I will clean it up and let it blend in with the industrial chic vibe of other rooms in the house.

Times change. Tastes change. A new homeowner will come along some day. They won’t see the hardwood floors as the treasure that I do. They’ll likely wonder why I exposed the cold, outdated eyesore of distressed wood flooring. They’ll cover it with god-only-knows what. Hopefully, as the transition from trend to trend and back again continues, the stalwart wood will at least be given the courtesy of a drop cloth. Is that too much to ask?

autumn turns to fall
transitioning to itself
changed yet unchanging

Haibun Monday – Transitions 

National Voter Registration Day

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Midterm elections are coming up on November 6th in the US. Are you registered to vote? You can register HERE. It’s super easy and super important. Be heard, make a difference.

Vote like your life depended on it. Someone’s life truly does.

“Too many people struggled, suffered, and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote.” ~ John Lewis

“We must vote for hope, vote for life, vote for a brighter future for all of our loved ones.” ~ Ed Markey

“Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).” ~ Ayn Rand

002

morning stirs

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morning4

The clock shows six a.m. Maybe. My eyes don’t quite focus first thing in the morning. My dog Chules has awakened me with his gentle “woof” from halfway down the hall. I don’t know how he expects me to hear such soft greetings, but I do hear them, almost every time. I rise and make my way down the hall to the front door where Chules now waits. “What kind of day do you suppose it is today?” I ask. Chules answers as usual with a generous tail wag and an expectant smile. He doesn’t prejudge days. He’s very Zen about that kind of thing.

I prop the door open with my Himalayan salt crystal. The lamp inside broke some time ago, but it’s quite heavy and makes a perfect door stop, so there it sits. Chules steps out to the  porch and plops down on the cool cement. The lyrics from a Dan Fogelberg song enter my head.

Yes it’s going to be a day // There is really no way to say no // To the morning.

Chules’ eyes meet mine. Does he hear the song, too? In my imagination, I hear us both saying, “Yes.” A most hearty yes to the morning.

morning stirs awake
day unfolds to greet the sun
petals of summer

dVerse Haibun Monday: morning

Rodent Robbers

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Snap! smacks the mouse trap,
as the spring is spryly sprung.
The trap slaps shut with a jolt abrupt.
Now the deadly deed is done.

Wheeze! breathes the brave mouse,
as she gasps to grasp some air.
That’s how it goes when the cheese she chose
is a ploy plied to ensnare.

Voilà! exclaims the vainglorious vole.
“You disdained and disbelieved
that a twig tip-tapped could trip the trap.
Such a clean scheme I conceived.”

Shush! shouts the shaking mouse.
“It was I who death defied.
Put a plug in your pompous prattling
while we partake of our purloined prize.”

dVerse Meet the Bar: Onomatopoeia