It was the morning of election day and as I had promised a friend I would hold a sign for him at the nearby polling station, I took the rare step of setting my alarm clock so I could be on time for my 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. shift, being there when the polls opened and would still have time to vote in my polling station and accomplish the number of errands I needed to run the rest of the day.

I gathered my lawn chair, the candidate sign, a thermos of hot coffee, and a kindle so I could pass the time reading if I were to end up being the only sign holder for any candidate present. At the last minute, after consulting my weather apps on my phone and computer, the Weather Chanel, and Alexa who all forecast a chance of rain, I grabbed an umbrella as I went out the door.

“Chance” means there is a possibility, but the monsoon I walked out into was a reality.

I walked to the where I was supposed to be, choosing a corner spot at which, unlike the usual gathering  of sign holders at the entrance to the parking lot and being seen by a limited crowd, I chose a street corner nearby so the sign could be seen from multiple directions and by anyone coming up the side street and using a rear entrance to the parking lot.

I sat there a good hour and a half, huddled under my umbrella wrapped in my long hooded “Goth” coat.

The people for the other candidates huddled in the rain by the entrance and looked rather bedraggled as none had brought an umbrella. My choice of seat location had the practical purpose of greater visibility, but it may have also eliminated the hatred of those who would have to be standing in the rain while I sat below my umbrella keeping dry in their midst.

These people were holding signs for those candidates for city council and mayor who had been chosen in the primary by only 6% of eligible voters who voted in the primary last month.

Eventually rain gave way to wind, which at one point tore my sign from the stick sending it across the street, and, in time, sun.

By the time my shift was over and I had gone home for my breakfast before setting out on the day’s errands and to vote, the sun had come out and the temperature was heading to 65 degrees.

There had been a lot of griping about the candidates for the various city council positions and criticism of past performance but with only 6% of the eligible voters going to the primary polls, the city voters had pretty much left the decision as to who will be on the ballot to just a few people.

Yes, there was a reaction to this low turnout and people gvetched about who was chosen, and with all that is going on in the city, this should have motivated people, if not shamed them, to get out and vote. You would assume this would be so with all the online criticism of city government and all the suggestions, request, and demands as to what the city should be doing.

If one sees bigger numbers than previous ones as a sign of success, then the people of the city should be happy that the final tally of voters increased this election.

As a matter of fact, it doubled.

Yes, 6% of eligible voters gave us the ballot and 13%, more than twice as many, made the final choice that 100% will have to live with.

87% of the voting public stayed home.

To end any useless discussions or gripe sessions so you can get back to your beer at the bar, just ask the person opining if they voted on November7. There’s an 87% chance the answer will be “No”.

Easiest way to turn off a dripping faucet.

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