Election Day 2020

I want to lead this post with an image that evokes complete calm, one that’s been a favorite of mine for some years now, Berthe Morisot’s stunning LeBerceau/The Cradle. 

This lovely 1872 portrait of her sister Edma and Edma’s newborn child, Blanche. God knows, or should know, we need all the sense of calm we can get at this moment.

Speaking of this moment, it’s been some time since I’ve posted an update — the last faux pas notwithstanding, of course. Today, Tuesday, 3 November, is the Day of Days here in the United States and I just couldn't let this go without saying something.

Originally Susie and I were planning on staying at home during the election but some weeks back talked ourselves into finding some way of participating in the election process. And so we are now officially poll workers, at the 4th precinct in Grand Rapids Township, Kent County, Michigan. 

We did our poll worker training about three weeks back and then a followup session on using the computer, which serves as the official poll book. Monday, yesterday, we stopped by to help set up at our polling station which is located at the Ada Bible Church off Knapp Street. 

 

The plan is we arrive at 6am, the polls open at 7am and we work until closing at 8pm. We hope to be home sometime around 9ish or so. The word from the township office is about half of the township has already voted by absentee ballot and the number of those voting is predicted to be record-breaking. 

Whatever the outcome, Tuesday is only the beginning. 

There is a long road waiting for us all, not just here in the USA but around the world. The growing spread of Covid-19 matched by increasing unrest joined by incompetent leadership does not bode well. We either work together to repair our climate, our society, our health, or we don’t. 

It’s really that simple.

On the more mundane side of life, Susie continues to bake and blog, we continue to provide a Sunday dinner for her mom at Pilgrim Manor and a Panera sandwich on Thursdays. As for me, I finished, at long last, the four volumes of biographical sketches of the men of the 3rd Michigan Infantry, which are now available on Amazon. And just last week donated all my Civil War research materials to the Grand Rapids Public Library Historical Collections. Lastly I  completed my 3 volumes of the Guide to the Earliest Burials in Père-Lachaise Cemetery and hope to have that uploaded to Amazon later this week.

Be well, be safe and be at peace.