At about 4:30pm, I dropped my son off at tumbling class and walked 2 blocks north to return a few books at the Edgewater library, northside of Chicago near the lake- Loyola University neighborhood.
I am confronted with folks jockeying to get in the front door.
I'm not sure what is happening until I actually make it in and wonder of all wonders- here in Obama-mother-land, the great state of Illinois, a total shoe-in for deepest of deep blue states- the line for the early voting is snaking out the door!!!
It wound around the entire interior perimeter, snaked back & forth up and down the book aisles and out the front door by about 4 people- hundreds of folks in line. It was 30 minutes until the polling place was set to close.
F'g amazing!!!
This can only mean, I hope, that Obama is going to landslide Illinois. Why would I say this?
'Cause as I entered I uttered 'way to go' really loud as an encouragement and from sheer happiness to finally see so many citizens executing their right to vote that I just couldn't help it and someone shouted back 'Obama' and just about everyone within earshot nodded in agreement or muttered something positive in acknowledgement.
This was a very diverse crowd: young and old, black and white and kooky hatted and pierced and tattoo'd and grayed hippie and dark over-coated and even one with a McCain sticker on his jacket.
I asked at circulation and the librarian said it was like this all day yesterday, today and that she expects tomorrow will be the same (last day of early voting here). She said that people were just resigned to waiting: no one complained or made a fuss, nothing.
I'm so happy I could just kiss a wingnut!!!