12 Oakdale

Part 1: I filled in the online forms to be a poll worker when we moved to Orange County. Even though I’d been a precinct clerk in Broward for many years, the rules up here are that one has to be a lesser worker the first time out. Fine by me, but when they asked me to be a poll deputy for the August primaries, I decided perhaps a 74-year-old was not the best option for crowd control. I declined that opportunity.  The person calling said she’d put me down as “doesn’t want to work”. I suggested perhaps another position; that seemed a no op. Okay then. I tried again for the fall election. Hurricane Milton arrived the day I was supposed to have my online orientation. This time, when I called about rescheduling, I was offered a clerk position, but I would be out of town for the remaining training sessions, so no. Could I come in that night to be trained as a backup epoll worker, the person who checks in potential voters. Sure.  Election eve, I slept badly, waking up hourly after mi...

This should be one of the best days in the past year. Grant and I got our initial vaccines. Not without some chaos on our part, because we first drove to the wrong convention center. That was solved by putting the correct name and address in Google Maps. Once there, we got in line with about 100 cars ahead of us and followed the signs designating the driving path through the parking lot. The line moved almost consistently. I could just take my foot off the brake, and the car rolled fast enough to keep up. Once we got to the underground staging area, we presented our QR codes, answered some health questions, and received our printed shot information to stick on our sleeves. We were directed to one of the 16 staffed areas, and the first of the glitches appeared. The nurse said she couldn’t give me my shot because I carry an EpiPen for my honey bee allergy. Fortunately, a manager was able to override the software, I promised to call my doctor if anything felt odd, and the nurse fired away...

It’s day three after Election Day, and we still do not know who our next president will be. Latest results seem to flow to Joe Biden, with 253 electoral votes versus President Trump’s 213. Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes are likely to go to Biden which will clinch the presidency for him. He is calling for patience while all the votes are counted; Trump is tweeting to stop the counting. Meanwhile, I just keep swimming. I bought a wetsuit top which seems to keep me warm even though the sleeves are loose, so water gets in. In any case, whether I need the wetsuit to avoid hypothermia (likely not in Florida), it takes away any excuse of avoiding getting into the pool. Once I’ve flopped in and asked Siri to set the timer on my iPhone, I paddle back and forth until I hear the chime to stop. I know this doesn’t help with bone density, but the exercise helps me sleep. That’s good enough reason to do it. Eventually I plan to push the pace and do freestyle, but for now, I breaststroke over and ...

For the first time in almost two decades, I am not working the election. When we moved to Windermere, I assumed I would continue my career but spending 16+ hours in a room with other people seemed too risky in this Covid era. I did still get up at 5:00 AM, not to drive to my precinct where I was clerk, but to call a friend to be sure she woke up in time to get to her election job. It is her first time volunteering. Dealing with the American public is odd in the best of times; these are not those. I hope she gets a competent clerk who can keep control of the process. I know people are on edge, with poll watchers checking every move. Crossing my fingers for her and for our country. When I clerked, my precinct shared a rec center with 2 other precincts, so we had 20-25 volunteers. There were the good, the bad, and the incompetent, but volunteers are hard to find. Most were even older than I. We were called volunteers, but as clerk, I got $200 for 4 hours of training plus working Election ...