Been there and done it

We walked over to our polling place, where we've voted most of the past 34 years, for the last time. The state is going to all mail voting next year. No more befuddled and/or cranky old people manning the tables, sometimes being cheery and helpful; no more watching the paper ballot being consumed by the machine; no more being sure it at least got collected. Got our stickers to prove we'd done our duty, which Starbuck's said it would redeem with a free cup of coffee if we asked. Didn't bother with that, spent the day not reacting to any election input. But just now, when my favorite DJ from KEXP, Darek Mazzone, started playing a mix which included some of Obama's speeches, and music appropriate to this momentous occasion, I began to feel a tightness in my throat. It's hard not to hope.