I woke up reeeeeeeeeeally early this morning so I could go help with an election. My boss had told me on Wednesday that the school board was looking for more people to help today, and I would get paid, so why not? Except I had to get up at 415 so I could leave and be at the voting place by 530...and it wasn't over until 730 of course. And since I'm really not the most awake that early, I missed the thermos I was pouring my boiling water into and poured it all over my hand. So that was a great start. My hand is pretty sore. It was an interesting experience to say the least, and I'm glad that it's over and I will be going to bed soon. I crocheted a lot, read a lot, ate a lot...and ignored the old ladies who gossiped the. entire. time. They were precious and all, but they had all clearly lived in the same town for the majority of their lives, gone to church together forever and knew everything about every body. And I was the youngest by 50 years, at least. But as long as I ignored the one lady who was definitely did NOT share the same political views as I did, I enjoyed myself. Just to clarify, I don't mind hearing people's opposing views: what I mind is when they just spout off random "facts" and opinions with no background and basis for such statements and when questioned, they just have a response of "well, just because."
Anyway, working with some 70-80+ year old women all day was really neat (minus politics). They told and compared stories of growing up on the farm and going to school in a one room school house, and moved into topics about what they did during WWII. I sometimes love just listening to that generation with their experiences! My favorite lines of the day was when they were discussing how our oldest volunteer's TV wasn't working. So another lady was trying, without any idea of the terms to use, to explain how she might resize the picture on the screen. A third lady chimed in that this could solve her TV issues too, and the describer said my favorite line of the day: "Well, I can't remember what the function is called, but the button is on the left side of my remote..." Since this was incredibly helpful, I hope the other ladies trotted right home and took care of their problems :)
My second favorite line was when we were all discussing how cold we were in the room the voting was taking place in. "Oh, is that a heater below the tv?" "No, that's a tape player" as they all pointed and discussed the CD player. With no tape playing ability. I know since I grew up with all this stuff there's just no way I can fathom what it would be like trying to keep up with it all when these ladies grew up in homes with no electricity or running water.
All in all, I enjoyed myself I suppose. Got plenty of reading, crocheting and eating done. Jesse and Lily survived, though it sounds like Lily wasn't the most cooperative little kiddo today...but they did it!
Sorry this was a boring post, I'll try and get something more exciting sometime soon. I just wanted to tell my boring stories, and mostly the TV remote story for my family, particularly my brother. Thought you would enjoy that, Joel.
So glad you could enjoy the ladies of another generation and hear their stories. It is a blessing to be able to have a sense of humor and enjoy life, rather than letting things upset you. I am sure Jesse and Lily had a bonding experience of some kind. Keep sharing, enjoy your blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm not excited about the day when I realize that I can no longer keep up with the pace of technology.
ReplyDeleteI've onve worked the polls, too! It is quite an interesting experience. Actually you are lucky to even get the opportunity. Most of those ladies work the polls every election and there are very few openings. With only 17% turnout for the vote, it would be a boring day but it is fun to have an excuse to catch up on crocheting!
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