Election Day

My close friends may recall that Election Day is Johny's Birthday (celebrated). A few years ago I wrote The Elcetion Day Polka, since it's a holiday with no song; "Hip hip hooray/for the USA/Everybody jump for joy 'cause it's election day/ Yippee yahoo/ For me and for you/ Oh boy it's election day, we'll have a big to-do." And yet here it is election day and for the first time I can remember since I came back to the States, there's no election today, at least not in Berkeley. No ballot issues, no city council election, no recall, nothing. I'm familiar with the "don't vote, it only encourages them" arguement, but man, I really love going to the fire station or church or somebody's garage, going behind the curtain and punching little holes in the cards. (Nowadays, post-hanging shads in California, we draw a nice dark line on the card, which isn't as much fun.) It might be a pointless exercise to opiate the masses with the illusion of choice, or it might not I suppose, but I miss it all the same today. Happy Election to all.