I did my civic duty yesterday by voting. As amazing as it may seem, Florida is one of the forward thinking states which allows early voting. That of course balances with the redicilous way they do it here in St. Lucie County.

There was only a 30 minute wait but they were only letting in a dozen people at a time. All of us in line were asking each other why they didn't let let the line flow normally; one person at a time. When you got inside you first had to wait in another line to verify your identity with one clerk, then wait in a third line to get your printed ballot before you could go to these individual mini-cubicles to do your voting on these paper ballots which, after waiting in fourth line, would be fed into a scanner.

PAPER BALLOTS?!!!!!!!!!

Someone has got to let Florida know that it's the 21st century.

Either way, I did do my civic duty. While my voting record is nowhere near as perfect when I lived in Rhode Island, I have voted in all of the major primaries and elections. Yes, I voted for Obama. In addition to the differences on the economy, health care, choice of running mate and the war, the mean spirited campaign of McCain made this an easy choice.

So much of this election year has reminded me of 1968. We are in the midst of an unpopular war which has divided the country and there is a candidate calling for change and embodying a sense of hope. Let's just hope that this election turns out better than that one did!