Like other Americans, I went to the local School for Global Studies in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn and voted. My six-year-old daughter Deana documented the process with a small still camera.
“Who did you vote for?” – I’ve heard her talking to the kids on the playground of PS 29 a few minutes later. “I just voted for Barak Obama.”
The school was wrapped in a long line of citizens.
“Mommy, is McCain a baddy?” – a four year old went to ask his mother. “Is he fighting and killing people?”
“No, he just believes in different things,” the mother, who had an Australian accent, said. She was not a US citizen and stayed on the playground to watch the kids while her American friends stood in line waiting to vote.
I voted for the first time in my one-year life as an American citizen. A year ago I made sure I became a citizen on time. I’d already missed a historic moment in my home country Ukraine when they were having the Orange Revolution election in 2004 and I did not want to miss out again.
Including this time, I voted twice in my life. The first time was many years ago in Ukraine when I was not yet eligible to vote because of my age and I voted for my friend’s mother who did not want to go to the polling station, so she let me use her vote.
“I am surprised they are not lobbying outside for the candidates,” the Australian mother from the playground said. “No one is standing there with slogans and posters. It’s different in Australia”
In Ukraine it’s different too. Candidate’s campaigners usually offer people refreshments in the form of vodka, and quite often give them money if they vote for the right candidate.
“If Obama won’t win, McCain becomes the president,” said Deana. “It’ll make me feel sad.”
She explained, it’s because he will cut down trees and maybe gigantic woods. “He wants to kill nature,” she said. “I’ve heard it on the internet.”
More and more people were joining the line around the school to vote. Nobody offered them drinks or money.
Starbucks, however, gave a free cup of coffee, Ben and Jerry’s and Krispy Kreme gave away ice cream and donuts respectively. Even a sex shop Babeland had freebies: Silver Bullet vibrator and Maverick(!!!) penis sleeve.
I voted in Brooklyn. It was obvious to everyone present which candidate was going to win Carroll Gardens.
