Friday, November 2, 2012

Think. Vote. Please. (I interrupt for a PSA)

by Judy Merrill Larsen


I can be cynical.  Sarcastic.  But, there are some things that I do hold sacred.  Midnight service on Christmas Eve always brings me to tears.  Buying lemonade from little kids at a ratty card table on a hot summer day.  My mom's peach jam.  And voting.  I get all verklempt when I leave the polling place.  I think of the men and women who died so I could do this.  I think of the big brains over 200 years ago who dreamed this all up.  And I say a little prayer of thanks to all of them when I pull that lever.




I remember coming home from teaching high school on September 11, 2001.  I'd been comforting kids all day, assuring them things were going to be okay when all I wanted to do was find my two sons and hug them tight. And have my mom give me a hug and assure me everything was going to be okay.  When I pulled in my driveway and dropped my backpack on the kitchen floor, I went straight to our coat closet and got out our American flag and hung it out on our porch.  And when I did that, that one simple thing, I felt comforted.  I felt like I was saying to all the world--"Hey!  We're America!  Watch us.  We're not going to crumble."  





And we didn't.  We survived.  Other countries still look at our democracy and want to emulate it.  People still want to come here.  People still believe in the American Dream.


And next Tuesday, we get to vote, a right that people in other countries are still dying for.


I remember four years ago, seeing a picture on the front page of The New York Times that stunned me. And it haunts me still. It was of a little boy, a toddler, with both of his ankles in casts. He was from one of the African nations struggling to have fair elections in the midst of war. Men had come in, and when his mother refused to say where his father was and how they had voted, they shattered the little boy's ankles.


Think about that for a minute if you can. Think of the terror and horror his mother endured. The pain of the little boy. These were people who faced brutality and possible death just for trying to vote. 

We have an election on the horizon and while there have been lots and lots (and lots!) of words said and written about it, there are people who won't vote because they are too busy or they just plumb forget or they don't care. There are also people who will vote without being informed. They'll vote one way because of TV ads or skin color or internet rumors that are e-mailed and forwarded by idiots (sorry, Dad.).

And I want those people to think of that little boy and his mother.

Now don't worry, I'm not going to get into a partisan discussion rant here--there's enough of that already (Facebook, anyone?).  And everyone has the right to make up their own minds and vote for who and what they believe in.  Because what's important is voting.  Making your voice heard.


So, in the midst of NANOWRIMO, and the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, and all the million things that you think must be done now, please take the time to vote.  And while you're at it, see if someone you know needs a ride or a reminder.


Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.





I live in St. Louis, MO with my husband, am the mom/stepmom to five kids (ages 19-27), and taught high school English for 15 years. I'm over on Facebook. My first novel, ALL THE NUMBERS was published in 2006. 

20 comments:

  1. Excellent. I hope all voters take heed, because this system only works if we get out there and vote our conscience, vote our convictions. If you vote for different candidates than I will, you have that freedom and that responsibility--as do I. Thank God for it and for those who died so those freedoms would be ours. My mama and I vote on opposite sides, and we live in the same household. Would I like to lock her up so she wouldn't cancel out my vote? Never. Freedom is sacred. We must hang on to it tightly. And that means freedom for us to disagree and still live in harmony.

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  2. What a great, non-partisan post, Judy. I agree wholeheartedly. And like you, I also came home from my teaching job on 9/11 and immediately hung our flag!

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  3. I feel the same way when I vote, Judy! I thought I was the only weird one getting teary-eyed in the booth. I'm glad to know I'm not alone!

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  4. 'My name is Dora I am from United States, I was I a relationship with Ben and we loved and cherished ourselves for 3 good years and every thing was going on smoothly but February 14, 2012 a day I can call a lovers day we both had misunderstanding because I answered a call from a guy that is asking me out for a date but I refused, and he told me that the relationship is over and that he is fed up with me and I begged him because I love him so much but he refused me I was so down cast and I felt the world has come to an end for me but my friend told me about a spell caster that helped her sister out in getting her relationship back, a good job and favor in any of her endeavor but at first I was scared but I have to give this man a trial because I love Ben very much and I am not willing to loose him to any woman, so I ordered returning my love spell from this great spell caster that made me a happy woman again to say it all my ex came back to me with much love and a caring heart...i am testifying to this great spell caster ATINGO TEMPLE. if you need his help you can contact him on atingospiritualtemple@live.com

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  5. I want to say thanks to Dr Ishvara for bring back my lover to me , my husband said he want to divorce me for him to get marry to another woman after will have be together for 6 years few days for us to go and divorce, i say some body testify of what a spell caster have done for her so i desired to give a try it was 7 days to go and divorce and when i contacted him , he said that he can get him back for me' the third day my husband stop the divorce and now will are together for good .if you in any type of problem in your relationship contact him via email: ishvaratemple@yahoo.com

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  6. I’m Mercy brown by name I have a few testimony to share with you all about myself, I was in a relationship with this guy and for 3years and we were about getting married when we both have misunderstanding with each other and he ask me for a divorce and we both agreed and after 4months I head that he was having an affair with one of my closest friend and I was very upset and worried so a friend of my advice me and told me if I still love my ex and if I really want to have him back so I told her yes, and she ask me to contact Dr. Madurai the spell caster and I did although I never believe on spell so he gave me something when he was casting the spell and ask me to say my wishes on it and after the casting of the spell a receive a phone call from my ex and was ask me at which I did and now we are back together again I’m so happy and I wish not to ever have this mistake again in my life. I will also advice anyone with this kind of issue to contact him for help he is really nice on phone and always there to answer you question giving you the good advice that you need. his email is maduraitemple@yahoo.com

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  7. i and my husband have been having a lot of problem living together, he will always not make me happy because he have fallen in love with another lady outside our relationship, i tried my best to make sure that my husband leave this woman but the more i talk to him the more he makes me feel sad, so my marriage is now leading to divorce because he no longer gives me attention. so with all this pain and agony, i decided to contact this spell caster to see if things can work out between me and my husband again. the spell caster told me what i will do to get my husband back, so he told me that he was going to make all things normal back. he did the spell on my husband and after 5 days my husband changed completely he even apologize with the way he treated me that he was not him self, i really thank this priest his name is Dr Ishvara he have bring back my husband back to me i want you all to contact him who are having any problem related to marriage issue and relationship problem he will solve it for you. his email ishvaratemple@yahoo.com

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  8. I want you to hear a good testimony of the great love Dr Odige of odigelovespelltemple@yahoo.com) who help me on my time of problems, My name is Joyce and i am from France and i am married with 2kids and i had a lovely family before all the problem i want to share with you what happened,my husband use to be very caring and lovely to me and my kids and we were very happy with each other,until a day and we where having a dinner in one of the restaurant in our state and their was a lady who was sitting close to us and i never knew she was interested to have my husband and due to i was with my husband she could not do anything there then after that day,my husband started to maltreat us at home not knowing that he his seeing that lady until a friend came to told me and i confirm it my self it really hurt due to the love we shared before,it really affected me until a friend who came from Africa told me about the powers of Africa spell Doctors specially Dr Odige of odigelovespelltemple@yahoo.com,even if i did not believe in spell i had nothing but to try and to my greatest surprise my husband came back home and beg me and now we are living more happy than before please you all should come together and thanks these great Dr Odige of odigelovespelltemple@yahoo.com,He can also help you if you believe in him and these is contact: http://odigelovespellsolution.webs.com/,thanks thanks once again

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  9. I just want to take a few moments to personally thank you for helping me bring back my husband to me and his family. About three months ago, I discovered that my husband of 3 years was having an affair outside our relationship. When I found out about this affair, I approached him and he did not confessed that he and She was having an affair and that he loved her and wanted to end our marriage and be with her.I was so devastated that I had to be hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. When I got better, I decided to go online and look for someone very good to help me. for a surprised! Then one day, I saw your comment about the powerful saibaba temple and was impressed by what they said. and i contacted him for the solution of my problem, and my husband attitude began to change and share good feelings towrds me and i am so much happy after he apologies for what he had done to me, he now love me and treat so much better than ever before. thanks to the great one. you can contact this great spell caster via his email templesaibaba@yahoo.com

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  10. My name is Sharon Johnson and i want to testify of the good work done by a faithful Dr uko a spell caster. in my life i never thought there is such thing as spiritual intercession. my problem started nine months back when the father of my kids started putting up some strange behavior, i never knew he was having an affair outside our matrimonial home. it dawn on me on that faithful day 19th of April 21st 4:23pm when he came to the house to pick his things that was when i knew that situation has gotten out of hand and he then told me he was quitting the marriage which i have built for over five years, i was confused and dumbfounded i called on family and friends but to no avail. two months after i started having problem with my kids welfare rent-age and all of it, i really went through hell. until a day i was browsing on the internet and i happen to meet a spell caster i never believed on this but i needed my man back so i gave the spell caster my problem at first i never trusted him so i was just doing it but you know a problem shared is half solved after a week my husband called me telling me that he his coming back home and that was all. now we are living happily and i still do contact him on this email:ukospelltemple@yahoo.com

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  11. Am very happy to tell every one to hear my testimony will say. am Gloribel Stancy from united state,am a nurse,this story of my love life.I have been married for 4years and on the fifth year of my marriage, another woman had to take my lover away from me and my husband left me and the kids and we have suffered for 2years until i met a post where this man Dr. Ehi have helped someone and i decided to give him a try to help me bring my lover back home and believe me i just send my picture to him and that of my husband and after 48hours as he have told me, i saw a car drove into the house and behold it was my husband and he have come to me and the kids and that is why i am happy to make every one of you in similar to met with this man and have your lover back to your self.You can contact him with this email address {drudebhuluspelltemple@yahoo.com} or {drudebhuluspelltemple@gmail.com} or you can still call him on his mobile +2349038669448 Thank you Dr Ehi. I am sure he will do same to help you too.

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  12. How i got my boyfriend back. I never believed in love spells or magic until I met this spell caster once when i went to see my friend in India this year on a business summit. I meant a man who's name is Dr Eziza, he is really powerful and could help cast spells to bring back one's gone, lost, misbehaving lover and magic money spell or spell for a good job or luck spell .I'm now happy & a living testimony cos the man i had wanted to marry left me 5 weeks before our wedding and my life was upside down cos our relationship has been on for 3years. I really loved him, but his mother was against us and he had no good paying job. So when i met this spell caster, i told him what happened and explained the situation of things to him. At first i was undecided,skeptical and doubtful, but i just gave it a try. And in 7 days when i returned to back to the states, my boyfriend (now husband) called me by himself and came to me apologizing that everything had been settled with his mom and family and he got a new job interview so we should get married. I didn't believe it cos the spell caster only asked for my name and my boyfriends name and all i wanted him to do. Well we are happily married now and we are expecting our little kid, and my husband also got the new job and our lives became much better. His email is ezizaspiritualshrine@yahoo.com

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  13. BE CAREFUL HERE NOBODY CAN HELP YOU HERE OR EVEN SUGGEST HOW YOU CAN GET YOUR EX OR LOVE BACK,ANY TESTIMONIES OF MOST SPELL CASTER HERE MUST BE IGNORE.BECAUSE MOST OF THEM ARE SCAM I MEAN REAL SCAM WHICH I WAS A VICTIM AND I GOT RIPPED OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BECAUSE I WAS SO ANXIOUS TO GET MY WIFE BACK AFTER SHE LEFT ME FOR OVER 2 YEARS WITH MY 7 YEARS OLD SON JERRY,I HAVE APPLIED TO 7 DIFFERENT SPELL CASTER HERE AND ALL TO NO AVAIL THEY ALL ASK FOR SAME THING SEND YOUR NAME YOUR EX NAME ADDRESS AND PICTURE PHONE NUMBER ETC WHICH I DID OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND MOST OF THEM WERE FROM WEST AFRICA UNTIL I SAW A POST ABOUT MAMA ANITA SPELL AND I DECIDED TO GAVE HER MY LAST TRAIL.SHE ASK ME FOUR THINGS MY REAL NAME,MY EX AND MY EX MOTHER NAME AND $380 AND SAID MY EX WILL COME BACK IN 24HOURS, I HAVE PAID OVER $3000 ON SPELL CASTING AND COURIER AND NOTHING HAVE WORK FOR ME AFTER 3 DAYS I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH I HAVE LOST SO FAR SO I SAID LET ME GIVE HER A TRY SO I CALLED HER AGAIN AND SEND MY REAL NAME,MY EX AND MY EX MOTHER NAME AND THE $380 BECAUSE I SWEAR IT WAS MY LAST TRY SO I WAS WAITING AS SHE TOLD ME TO WAIT TILL NEXT DAY AND I COULD NOT SLEEP THAT NIGHT BECAUSE I REALLY LOVE MY WIFE AND WANT HER BACK AT 9PMTHAT DAY I SAW MY WIFE ON LINE ON FACE BOOK AND SHE SAID HI AT FIRST I WAS SHOCK BECAUSE SHE NEVER TALK WITH ME FOR THE PAST A YEAR AND 9 MONTH NOW I DID NOT REPLY AGAIN SHE SAID ARE YOU THERE? I QUICKLY REPLY YES AND SHE SAID CAN WE SEE TOMORROW I SAID YES AND SHE WENT OFF-LINE I WAS CONFUSED I TRY TO CHAT HER AGAIN BUT SHE WAS NO MORE ON LINE I COULD NOT SLEEP THAT NIGHT AS I WAS WONDERING WHAT SHE IS GOING TO SAY, BY 7.AM THE NEXT MORNING SHE GAVE ME A MISS CALL I DECIDED NOT TO CALL BACK AS I WAS STILL ON SHOCK AGAIN SHE CALL AND I PICK SHE SAID CAN WE SEE AFTER WORK TODAY I SAID YES SO SHE END THE CALL IMMEDIATELY I GOT OFF WORK SHE CALL ME AND WE MEET AND NOW WE ARE BACK AGAIN I CALL MAMA ANITA THE NEXT DAY THANKING HER FOR WHAT SHE HAS DONE IN FACT I STILL CALL HER AND THANK HER AS MY LIFE WAS NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT MY WIFE PLEASE BE CAREFUL HERE I HAVE BEEN SCAM THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IF YOU WANT A TRUE LOVE SPELL THEN CONTACT MAMA ANITA (mamaanita.lovespellsolution@gmail.com) or mama.anitaspellcraft@hotmail.com

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  14. Hello friends! My Name is Alex Victoria from USA i have had a lot about Dr MADURAI TEMPLE on the internet about his good work, for bringing back lost relationship but i never believe because so many spell caster scam me because of my husband who left me and two kids over a year. so a good friend of mine introduce me to Dr MADURAI just because my condition was so bad and the responsibility in my matrimonial home was more than me. my husband left me to another woman just because i couldn't have a male child for him. so i email Dr MADURAI and told him everything, he told me not to worry that my husband will come back and i will have a male child for him. he only told me to believe on him that after casting the spell my husband will come back immediately and beg for forgiveness. he real did it for me and my husband come back to me in the next 24hours. i was very happy and thanks Dr MADURAI . so i was in this situation ( March 19 2014) i told Dr MADURAI that i will start shearing his testimony to every one in the world if he make me to have a male child for my husband. and he also did it as am shearing this testimony to every one out dear, that am with my new bouncy baby boy. now i believe that i am the happiest woman on earth because Dr MADURAI restore my life in my matrimonial home you can thank him for me or email him for urgent help in any bad situation i promise you he will also help you; his email address is (maduraitemple@yahoo.com)

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  15. Big thank you to Sorceress mama jaja, I don’t want to go into the whole long story..but bottom line is I have been doing no contact and he has emailed and phoned and I have ignored….now I know for a fact he is PISSED ..big time…he has written some things on his profile that I know were meant for me to see…what do I do??? I am panicked he will just say for get it.. I order love spell from this powerful sorceress, mamajajasorceress@yahoo.com and my boyfriend came back to me.

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  16. I am Mithra Kalyani.from Canada let my testimony bring solution to your situation, i was in a relationship with my boyfriend for four(4) we loved each other so much he was always there whenever i needed him, there was a sudden change of feeling towards me and he was abusive for reason which i do not know, he will go out with the boys and drink come back home and we fight most time, he therefore started seeing a girl from his work place, he will close from work and not come back home. i was losing him gradually yet he do tell me he still love me. the worse happened when he left the house to live with the other girl and it was frustrating i needed help but there was nothing i could do then i decided to search for help and advice online when i came across a wonderful review about a spell caster called Dr ATILA who have helped people to get back their ex. i contacted the spell caster with little or no faith, i gave him all the information he needed to make the spell work through his email address: atilahealinghome@yahoo.com he told me to expect my boyfriend to come back to me after 24hours which i believed. my boyfriend came back to me as the spell caster said and also kneel apologizing for putting me through emotional trauma. his email is:atilahealinghome@yahoo.com.Dr ATILA is truly gifted.

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  17. This is a testimony that i will tell to every one to hear. i have been married four 4years and on the fifth year of my marriage, another woman had to take my lover away from me and my husband left me and the kids and we have suffered for 2years until i met a post where this man Dr.ATIAFO have helped someone and i decided to give him a try to help me bring my lover back home and believe me i just send my picture to him and that of my husband and after 48hours as he have told me, i saw a car drove into the house and behold it was my husband and he have come to me and the kids and that is why i am happy to make every one of you in similar to met with this man and have your lover back to your self.His email: atitafospelltemple@yahoo.com .OR YOU CAN ALSO ADD HIM UP ON WHATSAPP USING THIS MOBILE NUMBER+2347067607073.

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  18. I Just thought I should share my experience cause I strongly believe someone out there need’s it…a powerful spell caster that works.

    Am Tiffany Joshua from USA. After being in relationship for seven years,he broke up with me, I did everything possible to bring him back but all was in vain, I wanted him back so much because of the love I have for him, I begged him with everything, I made promises but he refused. I explained my problem to someone online and she suggested that I should rather contact a spell caster that could help me cast a spell to bring him back but I am the type that never believed in spell, I had no choice than to try it, I mailed the Dr ABURI, and he told me there was no problem that everything will be okay before three days, that my ex will return to me before three days, he cast the spell and surprisingly in the second day, it was around 4 pm. My ex called me, I was so surprised, I answered the call and all he said was that he was so sorry for everything that happened, that he wanted me to return to him, that he loves me so much. I was so happy and went to him, that was how we started living together happily again. Since then, I have made promise that anybody I know that have a relationship problem, I would be of help to such person by referring him or her to the only real and powerful Dr ABURI who helped me with my own problem and who is different from all the fake ones out there. Anybody could need the help of the spell caster, his email. aburinative@yahoo.com or whatsapp him +1-442-243-3334 .) you can email him if you need his assistance in your relationship or anything.

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