Election day is Tuesday, Sept. 1. I remember the first time I voted. It was way back in the olden days when we had giant machines, each one surrounded by a curtain. You walked through the curtain of your designated voting booth and voted by pulling down a little lever. The registrars at the tables where we checked in and picked up our ballots were a formidable bunch. Most of them were women, all of them in business dress, and not a one of them doing anything other than taking it all seriously. There was no monkey business, that’s for sure.
Today I’m a registrar, which means, among other things, that I get to greet voters as they come through the door. In our small town, I find that many faces are known to me, and part of the joy of the day is seeing each one, celebrating the first-time voters, cheering for those whose physical challenges made getting to the polling place difficult but who made it anyway, just being grateful. That said, every registrar I know or have ever seen still takes the business seriously. Right along with the cheery greetings, we check and double-check to make sure that the tally aligns with the voter lists where we ticked names off as each ballot was distributed. We make sure that more than one set of trained eyes is always on every step of the process. I get quite grumpy when I hear anyone say that our elections are fraudulent. Let me tell you, I don’t know of any place where the voting officials are anything other than scrupulous watchdogs protecting what is a hard-won right to have each vote correctly recorded. There are constables and wardens, registrars and town clerks, all of them alert and on guard. Your vote is safe. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, and don’t let anyone take that right away. So please, just get out there and vote.
Meanwhile, at the library, much is going on. One of my favorite new things is what is called a Library of Things. It’s a collection of games, tools, electronics, and more that you can borrow with your library card. The vision of the Library of Things is to reduce wasted resources and encourage people to rethink whether they want or need to purchase items they rarely use. The Library of Things is an extension of the sharing economy already practiced by library patrons. Among items available are life jackets, tool sets, PA systems, a Chromebook, binoculars, a sewing machine, a Giant Sorry game, and more. If you haven’t been to the Aquinnah library lately, go on by and give a cheer to the hard-working staff, and maybe take home a Giant Ring Toss while you’re at it.
On the topic of the library, I want to thank Beth Green, who has been busily doing the groundwork to get the Friends of the Aquinnah Library back on its feet. She has called for a meeting on Saturday, August 29, at 1:30 pm of all interested in joining. Friends of the Library groups raise supplemental funds for the library, help with library programs when asked, and serve as community cheerleaders who urge their neighbors to enjoy the library collection and programs. The fundraising shouldn’t put you off; sometimes you can do your part simply by baking cookies to sell at the Aquinnah Artisans Fair, or inviting a few friends over for a coffee and chat about what’s available right here at our Aquinnah library. Come to the meeting and sign on. There’s no pressure to do any more than you wish.
Happy birthday wishes this week go to Todd Vanderhoop on August 31.
