Vote. Please.

I'm going to date myself here. I cast my first vote when I was 19. I voted - are you ready for this? - for Richard Nixon.

I haven't voted for any Republican for any office since then, and I'm not going to start tomorrow. There have been times when I truly couldn't stomach the Democrat. I wasn't going to vote for Jimmy Carter in 1980, but I wasn't going to throw my vote at Reagan, either. I voted for John Anderson that year. If I had to do it again, I might vote for Carter, or I might do exactly the same thing I did then. But Reagan, or any Republican? Never.

But that's not the thing I want to say in today's conversation, friends. What I do want to say:

Vote. (Got that?) VOTE!! K, try this:

VOTE!!!!!

Whether you are on the left side of the continuum, or on the right, please vote. Whether you agree with me or not, vote. Show up. Don't be one of those mental cowards who stay at home, then put a bumper sticker: "Don't blame me, I didn't vote for him." I'd much rather face a lifetime of living with a government I don't agree with than live with a government that was selected by your voice being shut out or my voice being silenced (good luck with that!).

In South Africa, when blacks were given the right to vote, they stood in line for hours to exercise this right. They knew well what a precious gift this is. And we can't get 30% out?

Get out there. Please.

VOTE!!!!! 

Thanks for hanging out for a few! Love ya!