Saturday and a Rant

Today was my favorite day of the week. My day of teaching where I get to leave the house alone for a few hours AND I get to play flute. Unfortunately I had a few set backs on this particular Saturday.. missed my bus, was an hour late, forgot my flute, last minute cancel from a student. Ah well.. next Saturday will be better... maybe...

I did want to talk a little about my voting experience. I have to admit that I really had no intention to vote in this election. I had planned to go on living in political ignorance and I planned to be perfectly happy about that. There were a few things that prodded me to care.. I have responsible and enthusiastic friends, several You Tube videos, TONS of facebook pressure, and my own conscience (finally.. I knew that thing would show up one day). As the day approached I began to wonder what I should do about Ara while I voted. I googled it and came accross a few articles that promoted taking children with you to the polls. I liked the idea of introducing Ara to the concept of voting and I liked the idea of being a good role model (for once). My Mom agreed to go with and keep her busy so it was decided and executed and all was well! I do have to take a moment to complain about the smoking. I know.. I complain about smoke fairly often but I just don't understand how it is that I had to gulp down clouds of smoke while waiting in line to vote. This issue has been making me crazy lately. Since I am now dependant on the charity of my friends and family and the wonder that is public transportation I have been smoked on quite a lot. I stoped asking my Mom for rides after she lit up in the car with my daughter in the back seat. I was outraged. Flashbacks of a second hand smoke filled childhood flashed before my eyes and I vowed to ride the bus so that I could keep Ara's life smoke free. My Sister has smoked in the car as well. The bus? Well of course, no one can smoke while ON the bus but it is impossible to breath clean air while waiting anywhere near a bus stop. It makes me angry. When I was in high school I wrote a manifesto outlining a plan to force all smokers to wear a bubble that would contain their air pollution. The could smoke and smoke and smoke but all of the pollution would be in their bubble. I planned to designate dumping stations outside of city limits where the bubble-head smokers could go to 'dump' thier smoke. I modeled the whole manifesto after something I had read... I can't remember what it was though.. something about babies that was awful but intended to shock and make a point. My daughter should have the right to breath non-tobacco air and when she is queen of America it shall be so....

Where was I?

Oh right.. voting. So I went, I voted, I got a sticker, and I felt pretty good about myself.

I tried to explain voting to Ara by telling her that this was a special way that I got to tell people what I thought was important. I asked her what was important to her and she said 'hippos, water, penguins' so there you have it. Enviroment issues and saving habitas for animals are close to Ara's heart!