When I was a little girl my Grand (Little Mamas mother) loaded me up in her car and took me with her, she was going to vote. I kept asking her what she was voting for and was it like buying something at an auction? Looking back, I think my question startled her, like it was something shed never thought about before. Finally she answered. She said, In a way, it is a bit like an auction, only were not buying with money, we put someone in office by putting an X next to their name and when the voting time is up, the person with the most Xs wins. I asked her if I could vote, and she explained about the age limit and said as soon as I was old enough, that it would be my job... my duty... to vote in every election for the rest of my life because women have suffered for wanting to vote,, been persecuted and jailed for wanting to vote, been put in mental institutions for wanting to vote, and some have died, fighting for a womans right to vote. I can remember sitting there in silence as we drove on toward town, trying to imagine why, in this world where everything is supposed to be fair, would women be treated differently? I would have to get older before I saw the prejudice. Before I experienced prejudice against women first-hand. The first time a man talked down to me and tried to cheat me when Id taken a car into be fixed I was about 22 years old. I needed a new battery. He changed the battery, then told me I would need a new starter to go with it. He didnt know that my daddy taught me to drive in an old pickup with a stick shift and taught me how to change a flat before he ever let me out on the road. He didnt know my first husband like to go to drag races and that I went with him. He didnt know that Id done my fair share of speed shifting on a straight-away and was pretty damn good at it. He just saw what he thought was an easy touch. So he is standing there smiling, waiting for me to bat my eyes and say, well, okay if you say so, but I didnt say that. I told him there was nothing wrong with the starter, that wed checked the cellanoid and plugs and the starter turned over perfectly without a hitch. I threw in so many mechanical terms his eyes glazed over and his mouth was agape. He handed me a ticket for what I owed. I paid him in cash, got in the car and left rubber on his driveway when I drove away. Women arent stupid. Exercise your rights... the rights your sisters who came before you fought and won for you. I dont care how you vote, just do it. If you do not cast a vote for what you believe in, then you have cast a vote for what you dont.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 15:09:35 +0000
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