Signing Up for an Absentee Ballot

Signing up for an absentee ballot was cause for celebration. It meant that I would be out-of-state for the next year! So, consulting one of my running lists of "Things-to-Do-Before-I-Leave" I was reminded to do that. The way I figure it is that I owe it to my rather run-of-the-mill idea of good citizenship to vote. I figure what Florida owes me in return is to see that my vote is counted...correctly counted. Given Florida's recent history, the odds of that happening are slim-to-none. There is good cause to wonder whether absentee ballots are counted more correctly than regular ballots. Never mind! I will be marking my ballot in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area of Washington State, and that makes all the difference. The suitcases are packed. The car is filled with the gas. The itinerary is in place. All systems are on "GO!" Tomorrow morning I put the key in the ignition and head out...one mile at a time...and thousands of them. As usual, the cats are freaking out. As soon as the suitcases came out of hiding, they seemed to be...different. It is like, "Oh, NO! Here she goes again." They mew, they follow me around from room to room, their behavior is a bit odd (interpretation: they curl up together on top of one of the suitcases to sleep). If they knew that this time the trip will last over a year, then I don't know what they might come up with to impede my progress. First stop tomorrow is an Exit off I-59 north of Birmingham. I am meeting a friend (of my parents!!) for lunch at a Cracker Barrel. If you do not know what a Cracker Barrel is, then you are not "southern". It also means that you have never even traveled through the South...they are regularly situated at interstate exits, never anywhere else,,, and are usually about 50-60 miles apart. And furthermore it means that you haven't a clue what is meant by the term "sweet tea"! I know that you are thinking that the term "sweet tea" is not so difficult a concept, but as I said before, you haven't a clue. At a Cracker Barrel, if you order iced tea, the waitress/waiter's immediate response is, "Sweet or unsweet?" If you are in doubt, order "unsweet" and sweeten it yourself. At Holden Village when villagers or staff members depart, there is a Prayer of Farewell that goes with them. All Holdenites know the payer so well that they could repeat it in their sleep, but for those of you who have never heard it, I will share it with you here. As I leave on this long trip, it serves me well to keep its words ever before me. Prayer of Farewell Lord God, You have called you servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us, Through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen. Enough said.