Going to vote today, at my local polling place brought back such wonderful memories. In our polling place in Evanston, voting was a neighborhood social event. In those days we were still using paper ballets. We met in the fire station and the firemen
taught us how to make their kind of coffee. I think I remember how they did it. Boil water and then throw in the grounds with a raw egg. In theory, the egg mess collected the grounds and kept them together in a neat clump. The coffee was clear, strong and
good. We loved the attention that the firemen gave us. We had bakery sweets brought in by the precinct captains. The neighborhood trickled in, men before work, women after the kids went to school, working women after work,kids coming in after school to see
the fire trucks and get a cookie or visit their parent who was an election judge.It was an event and a happening. There was never a plea for poll watchers or precinct workers. There was never a shortage of volunteers. Who wanted to miss the fun. We were so
middle class and virtuous.