Monday, October 24, 2016

A Historic Vote, A Historic Note

Today, at approximate 1:00pm, thanks to early voting in suburban Cook County, at the Centennial Park ice rink in Wilmette, IL, I voted for Hillary Clinton to be the next president of the United States of America.

(I asked the election officials if I could take a photo of my ballot, and though they didn't know, other waiting voters informed me (now verified as correctly) that it isn't allowed in Illinois; thus I can't share an image of the actual check mark.)

Though significant reservations about Mrs. Clinton's political beliefs, aims and loyalties precluded any sense of ebullience in casting my ballot, given the wretchedness of her opponent it was an obvious choice, and if for no other reason than it was the first time I've ever voted for a woman to lead the U.S., it felt historic.

This isn't to brazenly dismiss the respected opinions of close friends who dislike Hillary--and the oligarchical establishment within which she seems to exist--to the point of voting for Gary Johnson or Jill Stein, or abstaining altogether, but given the two names on the ballot with any legitimate chance of assuming the most important role in the free world, I made the only choice I could live with.

Much more enthusiastically, I've also made the choice to travel to Cleveland, Ohio, for games 1 and 2 of the World Series, where the Indians--I think it's time to change the team name, and definitely get rid of the insulting Chief Wahoo logo--will play my beloved Chicago Cubs.

This is, as everyone knows, the Cubs' first World Series appearance since 1945--before baseball's color barrier was broken--and the cheapest seat at Wrigley Field for games 3, 4 & 5 on StubHub is about $3,500, and even more in most cases.

This is far more than I can justify, and though tickets in Cleveland aren't inestimable, I bought single seats to two games for far less than one in Chicago would cost. (And maddeningly, despite repeated attempts to register for the Cubs' lottery for the chance to purchase postseason tickets, for the second straight year I haven't even received the "sorry, you weren't chosen" emails friends and family have received. But if you have a Wrigley ticket for a much more reasonable cost, let's talk.)

Anyway, I've made a choice I'm quite excited about, and barring any catastrophes, will board a Greyhound bus Tuesday morning, arrive in Cleveland--sans any luggage, as I won't have time to comfortably go to my suburban motel first--in time for Tuesday game, then stay overnight for Wednesday's game before catching a bus back Thursday morning.

I cannot wait.

Go Cubs Go!!

No comments: