(no subject)

[aureacherub]

I just remembered--for no apparent reason--a conversation that I had with my father as a girl. It was the day of the Dole/Clinton election, and I walked to the polls with my father. Before we went, my mother gave us both a lecture on how Clinton was the best thing for this country, and if my father knew what was good for him, he would vote for Clinton, as there was obviously no other choice. My father calmly listened, taking in her point of view, and off we set for the polls. He registered--explaining to me all the while how everything worked, how people used to use false social security numbers of dead people to throw the elections, etc--and I waited silently for him to come out of the curtained booth, and we set off for the short walk home. After a few minutes of silence (my father's favorite sound), I asked him, "did you vote for Clinton like Mom asked?" He paused, broke into a smile, and said, "No. No, I didn't. She's going to be so angry."
I was shocked. "So then...you voted for Dole?"
"No..." he answered, a smile on his face, "I voted for Ralph Nader. He's a member of the Green Party."
"And you think he'll be a good president?"
"No. I don't think he'll ever become president. But in order to get government funding as a National Party candidate, you have to get a certain percentile of the votes. He always comes in just under."
"But if you don't think he'll ever be president, why did you vote for him?"
"Because...everyone deserves a chance."
I laughed. "Don't tell Mom."
He smiled again. "I'll tell her. She's not going to like it, but I'll tell her."
"But why would she be mad? I mean, it's your vote, right? You can do whatever you want with it, just like she can with hers!"
My Dad stopped then, not in his tracks, but just for a second to glance down at me as we walked. "You're absolutely right."
"Why tell her if she's going to be so angry?"
"Because she's going to ask, and I won't lie to her."
"Why not?"
a sigh. "Because I love her."