Just got back from turning in my absentee ballot at my polling place.
Man! It was totally crazy. So, like, around 7:00, I go to my mailbox to see if my ballot arrived. (My mom had accidentally taken it to Fresno, and my dad just mailed it to me.)
At any rate, I open it and start driving toward my polling place. About two-thirds of the way there, I notice a lantern-like glow on the slopes around Olinda School. At first, I'm, like, "Kind of weird that peeps are carrying around lanterns. Halloween was two days ago!"
But when I drive in closer, I notice it's no lantern. It's totally a scarecrow-like torch that some hoods just plant in the ground in front of me! Images of the whole school on fire start crossing my mind.
Quickly, I think of what to do. I pull over, a bit afraid of what the dudes might do if they see me, and dial 9-1-1. After, like, one ring, an operator answers and I tell her what I just saw. It takes her a while to understand what I'm talking about, since the reception in that area is a bit poor and I'm paying attention to, like, four different things at once as I'm sitting there.
Anyway, I didn't want to get out of my car right away since I could still see some of the hoodlums wearing their white and black hoodies on top of the hill. Nevertheless, at some point, I decide to get out to check and see that another car has pulled up behind me. Holding the phone to my ear, I look down the street and see that pieces of the makeshift torch are now falling onto the dry grass!
Still on the phone, I rush over to the fire, pull the stick out of the ground, throw it on the sidewalk, and start stomping away like crazy! By now the hoods are gone and the operator has connected me to the fire department (who also have some trouble figuring out where exactly I am). At around this time, an armored-looking power service vehicle pulls up beside me and beams on its service lights. A guys gets out of the truck and rushes over saying "Oh sh*t!" and starts putting out the remainder of the fire with a water bottle. Man! It's freakin' crazy. The arsonists didn't even seem like they were kids, although I told Mr. Stranger otherwise.
Finally, the fire gets put out and by now the fire department is on its way. I tell the helpful stranger what I just saw, and we both climb up the hill and look around the schoolyard to see if the thugs are still hanging around up there. They were long gone.
Me and random stranger then go over what happened once more. The guy offers me a water bottle just in case the fire flares up again and takes off, back to work, I presume. Thank you random stranger! It was real cool of the guy. (The other car that had pulled up behind me left. I assume they thought all things were good when the fire got put out.)
I stay a while and wait for the fire crews to show up. Surprisingly, when they do, they don't ask many questions. They're just, like, "What was it?" and I tell them and point to the seared remnants. Then they're like, "Okay, thank you," pretty much indicating I could leave now. (I guess they're not too keen on conducting an investigation!)
Anyway, that ends that and it's back to normal life. I follow the fire trucks down Olinda Road and get to my polling place. Here, I start doing some last-minute research and filling out my ballot. Dude, it's so awesome! You totally read up about the initiatives at your polling nowadays! Ten years ago, this would not have been possible.
For the next 30 minutes, I sit there looking up pros and cons, and filling out bubbles along with people in, like, three other cars around me. Haha. (I was worried I'd be the only one.) Makes you feel like a part of a community of responsible, but lazy last-minuters. ^_^" (It was about 7:30 now, mind you, and the polls close at 8.)
Finally, when I was done choosing my homies and voting down sneaky props, I went on my way to turn in my newly filled ballot. But as soon as I get out of my car, I find, like, three people passing out fliers and telling me that I should vote for so-and-so for mayor. Haha, man. I didn't even know they were allowed to do that. (I asked a poll-worker about it when I got inside, and she says that, as long as they're 100 feet away, it's cool.)
On my way along the semi-dark path to the polling room (which is clearly marked by signs everywhere), I stumble into this room with, like, a circle of 5 dudes having a conversation about God. ^_^; (The polls were at a Church, so I guess it wasn't weird, though it was awkward.)
'Nywayz, to wrap this up, I find the polling room, put my ballot in the box, and claim my free, self-advertising "I Voted" sticker. Wooo!! I'm a responsible citizen! Now I'm off to research if I should regret any of my votes. ^_^" See you guys next post!
-amanisdude
No comments:
Post a Comment